St Kitts Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir The meeting was hosted on the sidelines of the Forty-Eighth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
During a series of bilateral meetings, the Prime met several world leaders to improve collaboration between St Kitts and Nevis and the rest of the world. The Prime Minister is in Barbados for the three day CARICOM Heads Meeting.
He thanked the Minister of state for foreign affairs in Saudi Arabia for their support to the CARICOM. The Caribbean Community, which consists of several small island nations, is grateful for the vote of confidence from the middle eastern nation.
For St Kitts and Nevis, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been an indispensable friend and Ally. The nation has helped in funding many development projects of the country.
The energy infrastructure of the federation has seen several major developments with support from the country. The funds for many of these projects were raised through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
The nation, through the fund, provided US$40 million for the expansion of the Needsmust Power Plant Project. The assistance of Saudi helped in improving the energy capacity of St Kitts and Nevis.
The expansion of the Needsmust power plant included installing new generators and adding an advanced metering system for the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC). The nation is also helping in funding the geothermal power plant in St Kitts and Nevis, which will further boost the energy portfolio of the island nation.
With the help of international partners like Saudi Arabia, St Kitts and Nevis is ready to become an exporter of energy within the Caribbean. PM Terrance Drew told the Minister of State Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir that the federation acknowledges the work that Saudi Arabia is doing within the Caribbean.
PM Drew was grateful for the support that they have recieved from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia thus far. He has also expressed the hope for continued collaboration between the two nations.