Antigua And Barbuda Included On List Of Countries Poised To Become Rich

Government of Antigua & Barbuda
Media Release

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (GIS) — The positive recognition by the international community of the Antigua and Barbuda economy under the stewardship of the Baldwin Spencer administration continues with the inclusion of the twin-island state on a list of middle income countries poised to become rich.

A Forbes article reports that Senior Research Analyst of US Trust Bank of America Wealth Management Ehiwario Efeyini reviewed the 215 countries tracked by the World Bank.

The three attributes the report said Efeyini considered were “already being a middle to high income country; a high level of governance; and improvements to corporate securities monitoring agencies post-2008 financial crisis.”

Antigua and Barbuda is on a semifinal list with Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Botswana, Costa Rica, Seychelles, Tonga and Mauritius.

“In a word, governance is the perennial issue that separates emerging from developed and low- or middle- from high-income economies,” Efeyini said in the report.

Minister of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration Harold Lovell said the Forbes report reiterates sentiments made in the international fora concerning the country in recent years and underscores the point local technicians and the ruling administration have been making about the government’s stewardship of the economy.

“This most recent designation is a natural corollary to the United Progressive Party’s management of our fiscal and economic portfolio since taking office in 2004. It follows our removal earlier this year from the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force after demonstrating that Antigua and Barbuda is compliant with international standards and practices,” Lovell said.

“It has been said before but it bears repeating that this administration was able to rebuild the economy and place it on a stable path in the face of the global economic crises which was coupled with the regional and homegrown realities of the CLICO/BAICO collapse and the Stanford debacle. We remain extremely proud of the fact we were able to weather the storm without laying off a single public sector worker and that we did so with a homegrown plan,” Lovell added.

The United Progressive Party’s commitment to accountability and adherence to National Economic and Social Transformation (NEST) plan is credited for placing Antigua and Barbuda on a path of transformation, growth and sustainable development.

Through the NEST plan, the country was able to re-engage the world community and repair relations that were damaged during the tenure of the Antigua Labour Party administration.

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