BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, September 16, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – A host of foreign diplomats will be on island for the next few days to join citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis as the Federation observes its 35th anniversary of Independence with a number of annual events and activities.
According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regional and international diplomats from more than twenty allied nations are expected to attend the Federation’s Independence activities including the annual State Service of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving today (September 16) at the St. George’s Anglican Church at 5pm, the Independence Day Parade on Wednesday, September 19 at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium, as well as the ceremony to pay tribute to the nation’s five most prominent sons on Monday, September 17, at the historic National Heroes Park.
The National Heroes Day observance ceremony will, this year, see the unveiling of the five lifelike statues of the late Right Excellencies Sir Robert L. Bradshaw, Sir C.A Paul Southwell, Sir Joseph N. France and Sir Simeon Daniel, as well as Dr. the Right Excellent and Right Honourable Sir Kennedy A. Simmonds.
Among those expected to attend these Independence celebratory activities include Ambassador of Japan, His Excellency Mitsuhiko Okada and Mrs. Okada; Ambassador of the United States of America; Her Excellency, Linda S. Taglialatela; High Commissioner of the Bahamas, H.E. Reuben Rahming; H.E. Anton Ojala, New Zealand’s High Commissioner; Deputy Head of Mission for Morocco, Mr. Mohammed Ali Elkamlichi; H.E. Kim Byung-yun, Ambassador of South Korea, and Ambassador of Switzerland, His Excellency Urs Schnider.
They will be joined by foreign diplomats residing in St. Kitts and Nevis including Cuban Ambassador to the Federation, His Excellency Abelardo Fabio Hernández Ferrer; Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Federation, His Excellency Tom Lee, and Mr. Jose Olavarria Rivas, Charge d’affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy.
Furthermore, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has dispatched a 28-member contingent of Honour Guards from the Taiwan Arm Forces that will participate in the 35th Independence Military Parade. The gesture by the Taiwan Government is intended to further solidify the 35 years of strong bonds of friendship shared between both countries.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ 35th anniversary of Independence is being celebrated under the theme, “Love, Service, Patriotism and Pride: Independence 35.”
