FOREIGN
RELATIONS
St. Kitts
and Nevis maintains diplomatic relations with the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Taiwan, Cuba and South
Korea, as well as with many Latin American countries and neighboring
Eastern Caribbean states. It is a member of the Commonwealth,
the United Nations and several of its specialized and related
agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,
the Organization of American States, the Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States, the Eastern Caribbean Regional Security System
(RSS), and the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM).
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is headquartered in St. Kitts.
U.S.-ST. KITTS AND NEVIS RELATIONS
Since St. Kitts and Nevis attained full independence in 1983, relations with the United States have been friendly. The United States seeks to help St. Kitts and Nevis develop economically and to help strengthen its moderate, democratic, parliamentary form of government. St. Kitts and Nevis is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. U.S. assistance is primarily channeled through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), as well as the USAID office in Bridgetown, Barbados. In addition, St. Kitts and Nevis benefits from U.S. military exercises and humanitarian civic action construction projects.
St. Kitts
and Nevis is strategically placed in the Leeward Islands, near
maritime transport lanes of major importance to the United States.
St. Kitts and Nevis' location close to Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands makes the two-island federation attractive to narcotics
traffickers. To counter this threat, the Government of St. Kitts
and Nevis cooperates with the U.S. in the fight against illegal
narcotics. In 1995, the government signed a maritime law enforcement
treaty with the United States, later amended with an overflight/order-to-land
amendment in 1996. St. Kitts and Nevis also signed an updated
extradition treaty with the U.S. in 1996, and a mutual legal assistance
treaty in 1997.
St. Kitts and Nevis is a popular American tourist destination. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, tourism declined, but the islands have seen growing numbers of visitors in recent years. Fewer than 1,000 U.S. citizens reside on the island, although students and staff of Ross University Veterinary School and the Medical University of the Americas (Nevis) constitute a significant population of U.S. citizens.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Mary M. Ourisman
Deputy Chief of Mission--O.P. Garza
Political/Economic Counselor--Ian Campbell
Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.
The United States maintains no official presence in St. Kitts and Nevis. The ambassador and embassy officers are resident in Barbados and frequently travel to St. Kitts and Nevis. A U.S. consular agent residing in nearby Antigua, however, assists U.S. citizens in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The U.S. Embassy in Barbados is located in the Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael (tel: 246-436-4950; fax: 246-429-5246). Consular Agent: Rebecca Simon, Hospital Hill, English Harbor, Antigua Tel: (268) 463-6531.
