Basseterre, St. Kitts -- Nov. 8, 2007 --  St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, has signed a memorandum of understanding with USAID’s Caribbean Open Trade Support (COTS) program, paving the way for the establishment of a National Investment Promotion Agency (IPA).

The IPA is a “one-stop-shop” that will facilitate doing business in St. Kitts and Nevis. The objective of the IPA is to create a single agency of Government that provides a range of services to local and foreign investors to ensure quick, hassle-free and successful business development and will be supervised by a Board of Directors, as opposed to a Government Department.

The signing of the MOU on Monday facilitates the important work that needs to be done over the coming weeks, some of which includes developing an appropriate legal and regulatory framework, putting in place systems and procedures (an Operations Manual, training of staff), developing a web portal, and setting up an investor tracking system.

Prime Minister Douglas is very hopeful that the establishment of the IPA will enhance the ‘doing business’ experience in St. Kitts and Nevis. “We believe that we are well on our way to correct some of the deficiencies in our system and thus enable us to become much more competitive in dealing with the rest of the world,” St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas. The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Administration said in October, that it was keeping its promise to the people, after it had announced that it was forging ahead with the establishment of the IPA.

Photo (left to right): St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and USAID Representative, Dr. Laureano (Photo by: Charles Jong)