SKN PM announcing 100-person five continents tour; many criticise timing of initiative | WINNFM 98.9
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SKN PM announcing 100-person five continents tour; many criticise timing of initiative
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—In March 2026, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Hon. Dr Terrance Drew announced what some consider a controversial plan for a 100-person delegation to embark on a world tour spanning five continents.
“I am taking to Nigeria with me a contingent, a full contingent, of people from across St. Kitts and Nevis. Not just government officials or civil servants, but a full contingent. And I am setting that up and taking them, and saying, ‘I, as the Prime Minister, have travelled to these places to open doors for you.’ Now I have brought you. You’ll see a very large jet land on the tarmac, which will take a lot of people. If I look at the number, I think it’s over a hundred. It’s a significant number. If not, that is very close to a hundred, but a significant number. It’s a lot. And so, this trip that I’m going to do five critical trips to all the continents, because I’ve travelled, and made the contacts, and opened some doors. I’m going to take our people to West Africa, which I’m doing on Saturday. I’m going to take our people to North America, both the U.S. and Canada. I’m going to take our people to South America. I’m going to take them to Europe, and I’m going to take them to Asia.” – Prime Minister Drew in an interview on Freedom FM.
The delegation is set to traverse five continents, beginning with a trip to Nigeria on March 21, 2026, following a previous official visit to Ghana.
The government describes the mission as a strategic effort to build international partnerships, secure foreign investment, and advance the nation’s “Sustainable Island State Agenda”.
“So I’m going to take them to the five continents with well-planned activities and engagements so that all people can start to be connected to the world in a meaningful way. We now have to start, based on the geopolitics, we have to start connecting our people around the world so that we become more resilient, less vulnerable, and take advantage of the opportunities that exist. We cannot sit down here in a country that is 68 square miles, looking at the geopolitics, and think that we are going to survive if we don’t push our boundaries and do the unexpected. We need to connect to the world and become global citizens as well. Proud Kittitians and Nivisians, but global citizens.”
The argument for the move is that high-level global engagement is necessary to ensure the country remains competitive and to explore larger markets.
The Prime Minister expressed his personal hope for this five-continent tour.
“And my hope is that when they go, they will open up their eyes, see opportunities, make the connections. That’s the only thing I can do. Their own, I would say, impetus have to be a fundamental part from it. I can take you to the trough, but I can’t make you drink. And our people are very talented, and I know they will find ways to make sure they can benefit from the opportunities and the doors that we are opening. So I’m going to open the doors on five continents, and I’m going to take them and introduce them and let it take off from there. So the first one I’m going to be taking a significant number of our people to the African continent is this Saturday, and then you’ll see them roll out over time. Maybe one of them you take an opportunity at. You might say, well, I’m going to North America, and the Prime Minister’s introductory international trips with these people to make them global citizens. Others might say, ” Can I come over to Asia with you, or to Europe, you know, or to South America? So basically, these trips now are trips because I’ve opened the door to take our people, especially our young people, to meet the world and to benefit from such. We have to become innovative. This world is calling for different ways of doing things. If we continue to do things the same way, we are going to be left behind.”
The announcement has led to significant public debate and criticism, primarily centred on the economic timing, transparency regarding the 100 selected individuals, and national priorities for this initiative.
Critics have pointed out the “stark optics” of a massive taxpayer-funded trip occurring less than a week after the Prime Minister urged citizens to “save where they can” amid rising living costs and economic strain.
The selection process for the 100 participants has been called into question: the necessity of such a large delegation for strategic diplomacy; a breakdown of the total cost; whether this initiative has been subsidised outside taxpayer dollars; and the specific tangible benefits expected for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.