On Wednesday 3rd February, Ambassador/Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary H.E. Ian Liburd, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts-Nevis to the United Nations officially presented his credentials to the United Nations Secretary General H.E. Antonio Guterres in a formal ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Ambassador Liburd brought greetings from the Prime Minister, Dr the Hon Timothy Sylvester Harris and in the process reassured the Secretary General of St. Kitts-Nevis’ full support for his strong leadership particularly in these unprecedented times. The Secretary General spoke of his personal commitment to St. Kitts-Nevis, the Caribbean and Small Island Developing States.
Throughout the ceremony, Ambassador Liburd engaged H.E. Guterres on a number of matters that are of great importance to St. Kitts-Nevis and advanced the foreign policy objectives of the Federation. Both of them spoke briefly about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of Climate Change on the Federation, also the rebuilding of its economy and building resilience in the areas of tourism, health, education and infrastructure.
H.E. Guterres reiterated the fact that St. Kitts-Nevis can count on his solidarity to defend its interest and make its voice heard in the international arena. They further discussed the work that the Government of St. Kitts-Nevis as well as the United Nations have been doing to advance access to the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly as a global public good.
In addition to Ambassador Liburd, five (5) other Ambassadors also presented credentials in formal ceremonies. These included Bolivia, Benin, Sri Lanka, Guinea and South Africa.
The ceremony concluded with a photo opportunity.
