UN Resident Coordinator pays official visit to St. Kitts and Nevis

The Resident Coordinator made his inaugural visit to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis from the 9-11 September 2024, where he presented his credentials to  Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew. During this introductory engagement, the officials also discussed matters pertaining to Renewable Energy, Citizen Security and the recent adoption of the multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI) by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). 

The Resident Coordinator also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, where discussions focused on matters pertaining to St. Kitts and Nevis' participation in the upcoming Summit of the Future and the 79th Session of the UNGA. The inaugural Mission also included talks with Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Action and Environment, the Honourable Senator Dr. Joyelle Clarke, and the pair discussed the UN's ongoing support to the Government towards mapping the country's work programme outcomes to the SDGs targets, as well as contributing to implementation of its Sustainable Island State Agenda.

 The RC also travelled across to Nevis to meet with the Premier, the Honourable Mark Brantley, where they discussed some of the local governments priority areas with a view to ensuring that the UN's support in country makes an impact on both islands.

In addition to engagements with senior government officials, the Resident Coordinator also took the time to meet with UN country-based officials in the Federation, as well as the national representative on the UN Youth Advisory Group,  where he was updated on their programmatic activities in country. Keen to deepen existing partnerships, the UN Head also  engaged with representatives from several civil society and non-governmental agencies on issues pertaining to Youth Advocacy, Women Empowerment & Entrepreneurship, Persons with Disabilities, Children's Foundation, and Rotary International Service Initiatives. 

During his visit, Mr. Springett also attended the Prime Minister's Independence Lecture Series, and the opening ceremony of the OECS Joint Meeting of Ministers for Social Development, Health, and Education, where he had an opportunity to briefly meet a few Ministers from the various OECS territories as well as other international development partners from the OECS Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Resident coordinator's mission ended on a promising note, having laid the foundation for deepening the UN's collaboration with the government and stakeholders of St. Kitts and Nevis to advance several initiatives of national priority.