US Ambassador To St. Kitts – Nevis – Mary Ourisman
Charlestown, Nevis
May 22, 2008
Premier of Nevis and Minister of Finance in the Nevis Island Administration Hon. Joseph Parry received commendations from United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Her Excellency Mrs. Mary Ourisman, for having launched the landmark Nevis Investment Promotion Agency (NIPA).
During a ceremony to mark the occasion at the Old Manor Hotel on May 21, 2008, the Ambassador expressed that view that the new agency would enable the government promote and to coordinate investments.
“I wish to congratulate you Premier Parry on this launch of the Nevis Investment Promotion Agency. This new body will enable your island’s Administration to better promote and to coordinate investments and to create economic opportunities for all of your citizens,” she said.
Mrs. Ourisman noted that the new measures to encourage investment on the island coupled with its new found renewable energy resources would propel Nevis into a new era of prosperity.
“I believe that your newly discovered alternative energy resources in the form of geothermal energy, combined with your strong push to open Nevis to high quality foreign investment, will combine to create a new era, a new era of economic growth and job opportunities for all Nevisians,” she said.
The Ambassador described the occasion as one of importance because it had become clear that over the years that the focus of development across the region had moved away from the traditional sectors and had become increasingly focused on international competitiveness and the attraction of foreign investment.
She said St. Kitts and Nevis had been an important regional leader for having charted that bold new course and explained that the measures put in place could only serve to enjoy the benefits of the global trade system.
“Saint Kitts and Nevis in fact has been an important regional leader in charting that bold new course that ranks 85, quite impressive! In these circumstances, one of the primary challenges which policy decision makers, entrepreneurs and managers face is to device mechanisms that stimulate economic growth, improved productivity and provide employment opportunities to their citizens.
