Technology has shattered physical barriers. You can be in Castries, Saint Lucia and attend a meeting in Warsaw, Poland as long as you have an internet enabled device. It goes much further than that though. Your shoe enterprise can be based in the United Kingdom but your shoe manufacturing plant is in Namibia. You can be living in Argentina and earn your degree via distance learning from a university in Germany. Globalisation is not just a theory anymore. It is the reality in which we live. Mobile devices in our world exist for more than just entertainment. Cyberspace is the new boardroom.
Issues in territories miles away are brought to us in real time. The results of attitudes and practices are spread wide with a click of a button. The ripple effects of any event reach far and wide in an indelibly short space of time. It is for this reason we are all called on to be global citizens.
A global citizen has several responsibilities: moral, ethical, political and economic. Among these responsibilities; a global citizen must respect cultural diversification, make connections and build relationships with people from other countries, understand the ways in which peoples of the world are inter-connected and inter-dependent, and understand and respond to global issues.
The Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) allows Saint Lucia to invite a select few to revel in its majesty. More importantly, the CIP is seeking responsible global citizens who are genuinely interested in investing in the island and its people in exchange for a tangible, valuable asset of an alternative citizenship. In keeping with the reverence which must be afforded to citizenship of any nation, the application and the due diligence processes are designed to ensure that global citizens are properly and thoroughly vetted before being granted Saint Lucian citizenship.
Saint Lucia offers all the tropical and cultural benefits of the Caribbean region while being authentic and exclusive. The island can boast of the individual accomplishments of its people and its inherent successes. It is for this reason that Prime Minister Anthony said “We have always dedicated ourselves to shaping the world because we believe we can make a difference to world civilization. Similarly, we expect that when we offer citizenship, we want our new citizens to enrich our Saint Lucia, enhance our global standing and ensure that our proud heritage endures.”
Saint Lucia is a speck on the map compared to continents like North America, Asia and Africa. In fact, our land mass is not even discernible on some maps. Despite our physical size, Saint Lucia’s triumphs and personality rival any other country in the world. We are the Helen of the West Indies – vivacious, charming, regal and tempting. We can be jealous guardians of our patrimony and will not allow it to fall into disreputable hands even as we open up our shores to citizens of the globe.
