Day: August 27, 2022

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Saint Lucia Citizenship Investment Programme makes top three in the 2022 CBI Index

Castries, Aug. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — St Lucia took third place in this year’s instalment of the CBI Index – which ranked 13 countries with operational citizenship by investment programmes.

Seen as an industry voice and reliable source for those looking to vet CBI programmes around the world, the CBI Index is published annually by the Private Wealth Management magazine, a publication of the Financial Times, and in partnership with CS Global Partners.

This year, St Lucia was ranked alongside Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Cambodia, Dominica, Egypt, Grenada, Jordan, Malta, Montenegro, St Kitts and Nevis, Turkey, and Vanuatu.

The CBI Index ranked these jurisdictions across nine pillars including Freedom of Movement, Standard of Living, Minimum Investment Outlay, Mandatory Travel or Residence, Citizenship Timeline, Ease of Processing, Due Diligence, Family and Certainty of Product.

Having recently welcomed Mc Claude Emmanuel to the position of Chief Executive Officer of its CBI unit, St Lucia was recognised its affordable minimum investment outlay, reasonable mandatory travel or residence requirements and ease of application processing.

“This recognition means a lot to us. The CBI Index is a globally recognised report that has been assessing CBI programmes for the last six years and not only will investors gain insight into our programme but it also gives us an opportunity to improve aspects of our programme to increase our scores next year,” said notes Mc Claude Emmanuel, CEO of St Lucia’s CPI Unit.

Investors can become a citizen of St Lucia in as little as 90 days by investing only a minimum of US$100,000 through its National Economic Fund, and busy entrepreneurs are not required to stay in the country for prescribed periods of time.

There weren’t many significant changes in the minimum investment outlays since the 2021 CBI Index, this was reflected in no change in the order of the final scores.

There were also no changes from the 2021 CBI Index to scores under the Mandatory Travel or Residence Pillar – Caribbean nations continue to rank highly in this area.

The country scored 87% overall.

St Lucia scored 9 out of ten for Due Diligence, Citizenship Timeline, and Family.

A very important aspect of any CBI programme is its ability to vet applicants and ensure that only honest individuals who can account for how they make a living are accepted into the programmes.

“We are on an ongoing drive to continuously enhance the due diligence processes of our programme as we are very keen to protect its integrity and value,” noted Mc Claude Emmanuel.

With ongoing geopolitical tensions, special attention is now being given to jurisdictions that offer CBI programmes. The international community is concerned that these programmes may offer boltholes for suspect characters looking to evade the law.

International respect is vital for any CBI programme to thrive, and a layer of ongoing monitoring is becoming a key pillar of reputable CBI Units such as that of St Lucia. Caribbean nations are setting global best practices when it comes to advancements in due diligence processes.

The Citizenship Timeline Pillar looks at the average time taken for citizenship to be secured by the applicant. One of the key merits of CBI programmes is their ability to provide a rapid route to second citizenship; St Lucia was awarded top points for its short turnaround times, which takes three months for citizenship to be granted from the date the Authorised Agent is notified that the application has been accepted for processing.

The CBI Index recognises that the rise of increasingly complex family relationships is driving investors to seek programmes that allow for a more diverse range of family members to be included under a primary application.

As an additional layer of nuance to its scoring system, this year’s CBI Index also draws a distinction between family members who are allowed to apply with and obtain citizenship at the same time as the main applicant and those who can apply at a later stage and because of the main applicant has already received citizenship.

Multiple family member categories were considered, with points being awarded for adult children, parents, grandparents and even siblings. Additional merit was also given to programmes with provisions for family members of the main applicant’s spouse. Additionally, the degree of flexibility within each of these categories can differ radically from programme to programme.

St Lucia scored 8 out of 10 in the Certainty of Product pillar. This pillar encompasses a range of factors that measure a programme’s certainty across five different dimensions: longevity, popularity and renown, stability, reputation, and adaptability.

Longevity measures the age of a given programme while Popularity and renown evaluate the number of applications and naturalisations under each programme per year, as well as a programme’s eminence in the industry.

The reputation of a programme was determined by the amount of negative press or the number of scandals it has been linked to, affecting investors’ broader perceptions of the countries in which they invest. Just as important, however, is evidence that programme funds are being utilised for social good. Points were awarded for a jurisdiction’s transparent use of CBI funds, for example for the development of domestic healthcare, education, tourism and other infrastructure. One of the main ways that investors can become citizens of St Lucia is through its Economic Fund which Mc Claude Emmanuel has said will “benefit all St Lucians by investing in social interventions and assisting the country to be food secure as assistance will be given to local farmers.”

Lastly, adaptability reflects a programme’s ability to rapidly respond to, and sometimes even predict, the needs of applicants and the industry.

St Lucia continues to offer a popular programme with consistently high application volumes, stability with no caps on the number of applications or specific calls to end the programme, and adaptability both in respect of changes to keep the programme functioning during Covid-19 and its swift response to the Russian invasion.

St Lucia, along with Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis scored seven out of 10 in the Freedom of Movement pillar. St Lucia has access to 15 of the 20 key business hubs assessed in the 2022 CBI Index.

Lastly, St Lucia scored six out of 10 for its decent freedom, GDP growth and GNI scores.

Download the full CBI Index here, to get further insights into the CBI industry and a full evaluation of the CBI programmes of the 12 other jurisdictions in the rankings.

PR St lucia
Saint Lucia
+1 758 458 6050
mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com
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ALGERIA IS HELPING TO ‘DIVERSIFY’ EUROPE GAS SUPPLIES: MACRON

Algeria has helped Europe diversify its energy supplies by pumping more gas to Italy, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday during a visit to Africa’s top gas exporter.

Dismissing suggestions that Italy and France were “in competition” for Algerian gas, Macron welcomed a deal Algeria signed last month to pump more gas to Italy.

The deal is “good for Italy, it’s good for Europe and it improves the diversification of Europe,” he told reporters.

European nations have been scrambling to reduce their reliance on Russian energy since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine six months ago.

Source: National News Agency

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WMO: Greater Horn of Africa drought forecast to continue for fifth year

As millions of people in the Greater Horn of Africa have already “suffered the longest drought in 40 years,” parts of the region are bracing for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported.

The forecast for October to December, issued at the Greater Horn of Africa Seasonal Climate Outlook Forum, shows high chances of drier than average conditions across most parts of the region, which will further worsen the crisis for millions of people.

“It pains me to be the bearer of bad news,” said Guleid Artan, Director of the?Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) – WMO’s climate centre for East Africa.

We are entering the 5th consecutive failed rainy season – IGAD official

“Sadly, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa”.

Raising the alarm

Last month, IGAD and humanitarian agencies raised the alarm that over 50 million people in the region are suffering from acute food insecurity this year.

“In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” continued Mr. Artan, noting that significantly less rainfall totals are expected until the end of the year.

The severity of the situation was echoed by IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu, who made a solemn call to national governments, donors, humanitarian, and development actors to “adopt a no-regret strategy and help us weather the worst of this crisis”.

Rainfall deficits

Rainfall from October to December contributes up to 70 per cent of the annual total in the equatorial parts of the Greater Horn of Africa, particularly in eastern Kenya.?

However, the start of the rainy season is likely to be delayed across much of the eastern parts of the region, triggering rainfall deficits.

The exceptional drought underlines the vulnerability of the region to climate-related risks, which are expected to intensify because of climate change.

Early warning initiative

Against the backdrop that hydrometerological and early warning services (EWS) can potentially reduce negative impacts, WMO revealed the launch of a new $5.2 million project to better enable regional and national entities to produce and use these services.

Project Activities will be centered around supporting EWS regional services and strengthening regional coordination and cooperation for these and climate services.

Support for regional centres to provide hydromet products and services will in turn contribute to strengthening the capacities of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, according to WMO.

Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan

Moreover, the project will also provide technical support to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan by building upon and leveraging ongoing and pipeline investment projects implemented or financed by WMO, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the World Bank.

In Ethiopia, activities will support providing electricity to “last mile” poor households in rural areas through a performance-based subsidy to the State-owned utility company.

They will also provide communities with actionable EWS, ensure early actions, and develop demand-driven climate and early warning information services.

In Somalia, activities will focus on developing and delivering priority public hydromet services; and in Sudan, they will focus on strengthening community involvement in EWS and?strengthening flood early warning services.

Source: United Nations

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Ukraine: Top UN aid official appeals for access across contact line

Speaking from Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, where shelling has intensified in the last week, the UN’s top aid official in the country issued an urgent appeal on Friday for guarantees from Russia and affiliated forces, to allow humanitarians to deliver “absolutely necessary” relief items across the contact line.

“Winter is coming,…[and] all we want to do [is] provide insulin to the hospitals, provide blankets, provide mattresses…it’s not complicated”, said Denise Brown, the Resident Coordinator for the UN in Ukraine.

She is currently on a three-day mission?to eastern and central Ukraine (Kryivyi Rih, Kharkiv and Dnipro) to assess the humanitarian situation first-hand.?

‘Constant’ negotiations

Ms. Brown told reporters in Geneva that the UN was “constantly negotiating” for access, “up and down” the line that divides those fighting the war stemming from Russia’s invasion on the 24 February, in the south and east.

Ms. Brown also said that she had no way of confirming what relief items, “if anything”, Russia had reportedly sent to non-Government-controlled areas. Aid organizations “just have no reliable way of crossing the frontline”.

But she said that she was “hopeful that the Russian Federation will provide the security guarantees that we require to go across”.

So far they have “reached less than a million people in the non-government controlled areas” and she warned, “if farmers can’t reach their land, that’s going to have a huge impact on their economic situation.”

Fearful winter ahead

The UN aid coordinator also warned that winter is fast approaching in Ukraine and that she did not believe that vulnerable communities in the east and south had what they needed to survive.

Six months since Russia’s invasion, nearly 18 million people, around 40 per cent of the country’s entire population, need humanitarian aid.

Many elderly people were living in damaged houses and the lack of access to gas or electricity in large parts of the east “could be a matter of life or death” if people could not heat their homes, Mrs. Brown said in a statement.

Regarding OCHA’s plans for winter, Mrs. Brown explained, “we will have to work differently …we can only assume” that people caught in a war “do not have what is necessary to make it through,” the season, “which starts early and lasts long”.

Humanitarian community delivering

On a positive note, the Humanitarian Coordinator pointed out that the war has not prevented the humanitarian community from delivering: “Since the start of the war, we’ve reached over 12 million people,” providing “cash transfers, health care, shelter… access to clean water, protection, rehabilitation”.

Agricultural production is also “now finally moving” due to the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain initiative.?This “will have an impact on families, on farmers and their communities and on the food insecure, particularly in the Horn of Africa right now,” she added.

Having met people uprooted by the war, Mrs. Brown said “morale and hope was still there”. While internally displaced people told her they are grateful for support from the UN and NGOs, they “still want to go home”.

Source: United Nations

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‘Global Energy Transition Strategies Must Tackle Energy Poverty’, Deputy Secretary-General Says at Nigeria Transition Plan Launch

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message for the virtual launch of the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan, today:

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as the Secretary-General has highlighted, we face a climate emergency that requires accelerated action. With energy accounting for more than two-thirds of global emissions, a rapid and unprecedented global energy transition must be at the centre of our efforts to meet the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement and avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption.

Today we have heard from key Government stakeholders and global partners about Nigeria’s ambitious Energy Transition Plan, which clearly articulates how the nation intends to meet its net-zero commitment made at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26). We also heard of the scale of resources required for the delivery of the plan and the need for support from the private sector, investment partners and philanthropies. The need for a just and equitable energy transition which enables universal energy access, economic growth and development for the country and continent was also emphasized. This is critical to note because as we embark on the global energy transition, the stark energy poverty in developing regions of the world cannot be ignored. Universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, as called for in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, is still out of reach. This is particularly true for sub-Saharan Africa.

Consequently, our global energy transition strategies must tackle energy poverty. We need to develop ways to provide universal access to energy for electrification and clean cooking.

I applaud Nigeria’s leadership in developing a data-driven energy transition plan to achieve SDG 7 by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2060. Nigeria’s plan recognizes the temporary need for transition fuels to speedily meet energy deficits and drive economic growth while ensuring a transition to renewable energy for sustainable and climate-resilient development. It is truly commendable that Nigeria has developed this bold plan and remains committed to its implementation even as the ongoing global energy crisis risks setting some Governments back in their commitment to SDG 7 and climate goals.

I hope Nigeria’s example will inspire other nations to act boldly on both energy access and climate goals to secure the well-being of people, economies, societies and our planet.

Thank you.

Source: United Nations

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New Permanent Observer for Organization of Islamic Cooperation Presents Letter of Appointment

The new Permanent Observer for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hameed Ajibaiye Opeloyeru, presented his letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Opeloyeru held several positions at OIC, including Deputy Director-General at the Secretariat for Food Security from 2019 to 2020 and Assistant Secretary-General from 2009 to 2019, as well as Supervisor, Legal Affairs Department from 2017 to 2018.

From 2007 to 2009, he was Ambassador and Head of Mission at the Embassy of Nigeria to Lebanon with concurrent accreditation to Syria. He also served as Minister and Head of Chancery at the Nigeria High Commission in London from 2003 to 2007. Between 1998 and 2003, he was Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Director (West Africa/North and Horn of Africa), African Affairs Division, in Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He served as Minister-Counsellor and Head of Chancery in his country’s embassy in Saudi Arabia between 1992 and 1998, Counsellor (Discipline/Central Africa) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1992 and Counsellor and Head of Chancery in the Embassy in Libya from 1986 to 1989.

Between 1983 and 1985, he was Senior First Secretary (Welfare and Education/Legal) and Third Secretary (Language Bureau) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979. From 1979 to 1983, he was Third Secretary and First Secretary (Political/Administration) at the Nigerian Embassy in Iraq.

Born in 1954, Mr. Opeloyeru earned his Bachelor of Arts at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt and a master’s in international law and diplomacy from the University of Lagos in Nigeria.

Source: United Nations