Happy anniversary, Antigua and Barbuda!
Antigua and Barbuda has made great strides in its development since Independence. Your country has also made its mark internationally with the most recent example being that of a national being elected President of the Sixty-Eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2013-14). Such confidence being placed in a small state by the international community is testament to the esteem in which your country is held. – CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, in Independence Message to Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Honourable Gaston Browne.
On behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), I extend congratulations to you and the Government and People of Antigua and Barbuda on the occasion of the Thirty-Third Anniversary of your country’s Independence.
Antigua and Barbuda has made great strides in its development since Independence. Your country has also made its mark internationally with the most recent example being that of a national being elected President of the Sixty-Eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2013-14). Such confidence being placed in a small state by the international community is testament to the esteem in which your country is held.
Honourable Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda has maintained its traditional role as a leader in the regional integration movement. Indeed the theme for this year’s Independence celebration, `Rebuilding our Nation with Togetherness, Commitment and Perseverance’ could also apply to the Caribbean Community as it seeks to implement its Five Year Strategic Plan 2015-2019. Your country’s portfolio in the CARICOM Quasi-Cabinet, that of services, has been identified in the Plan as one of the critical elements, as we seek to build competitiveness and unleash key economic drivers to transition to growth. This, once again, places Antigua and Barbuda as central to the integration movement.
Let me take this opportunity Honourable Prime Minister, to extend to you and to the People of Antigua and Barbuda, best wishes for the continued development and prosperity of your country.