Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 22, 2019 (SKNIS): As a small island developing state, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has impressed His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales dating back to his visit 46 years ago to his current visit on March 21, 2019, where he was accompanied by his wife Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall.
“I have been particularly struck by the eminent strength of your society,” His Royal Highness said, while highlighting the warm welcome he received from Kittitians and Nevis in 1973 when he first visited as a member of the Royal Navy to his present visit.
“Over all these years, I know that St. Kitts and Nevis has had such remarkable influence in this region and beyond, punching as they say well above her weight and given the fact that she has the smallest population of any (independent) country in the Western Hemisphere,” The Prince said. “As a consequence, the voice of St. Kitts and Nevis is heard and listened to on so many of the pressing issues of our time,” he said. Some of these issues His Royal Highness outlined are climate change, sustainable tourism, the protection of the marine environment and eradicating the scourge of ocean plastics.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a 12-day Caribbean tour of Saint Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Cuba and the Cayman Islands, to cement relationships with the Commonwealth. Cuba, which is not a member of the Commonwealth, will receive its first visit from members of the British Royal Family.