Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston A. Browne has told international business executives, politicians and academics in Toronto,Canada that his government has identified tourism development and financial services as priority investment sectors.
Speaking at the Global Citizen Forum on Wednesday in Toronto, Canada on the topic .Attracting Global Citizens, Prime Minister Browne outlined that his government “intends to re-brand Antigua as such, creating a new slogan, “Invest Antigua” where all measures from a Government stand point, will be fast tracked to compliment any investor wishing to invest in our Country.”
The Global Citizen Forum is an annual conference designed to educate, promote and empower global citizenship. The forum brings together government representatives from around the globe, financial, immigration and tax advisors, due diligence experts, global real estate developers, high net worth individuals, investors, business leaders and philanthropists to exchange on and further develop the concept of global citizenship.
Addressing the audience on the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme,Prime Minister Browne said that his government has taken note of the possible pitfalls of a programme of this nature and has designed the appropriate mechanisms to assure its integrity. “We are cognizant of the importance of strict and appropriate scrutiny of potential citizens to protect the CIP programme and the Jurisdiction as whole. The CIU implements rigorous due diligence standards a portion of which is outsourced to reputable internationally renowned due diligence service providers with competencies and expertise in the specific geographical location of the applicant,” he pointed out.
The country’s leader highlighted the three broad areas for an investor to qualify as a citizen and be issued with an Antigua and Barbuda passport. He spoke of the Contribution to the National Development Fund of US Two Hundred thousand (Which is a limited offer); the Real Estate Option of US Four Hundred Thousand; and the investment in a business option of 1.5 million US dollars for a single investor or US 5 million for two or more investors, each investor investing a minimum of US Four Hundred Thousand dollars.
On Friday at the Forum, Prime Minister Browne will speak to the hundreds in attendance on some of the investment opportunities in Antigua and Barbuda and steps the government has taken to make the country the best place for doing business.
Prime Minister Browne is accompanied to the Forum by his wife Mrs Maria Browne and
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister the Hon Charles Fernandez. He is joined by Ambassadors Casroy James and Gilbert Boustany.
The Prime Minister’s expenses to the Forum, along with that of the members of the delegation are being covered by Arton Capital, curator of the Forum.
Prime Minister Browne returns to the country on the weekend.