BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — Prime Minister Terrance Drew has reiterated that his government has received no official communication from the United States (US) that the North American country is considering imposing a travel ban on 36 countries, including St Kitts-Nevis and three other Caribbean islands.

“This administration has received no official notice of any travel ban or restriction on our citizens. From the moment we saw the reports, we moved immediately through all appropriate diplomatic channels. I put out communication to inform our people that we had not been formally informed about such a list, and therefore, as we get information, we would inform our people and keep them updated,” Prime Minister Drew said on the state-owned ZIZ Radio.

On Monday, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told a news conference that while his administration had also not received any official communication from Washington on the matter, he was nonetheless informing citizens that there is “no cause for panic”, and that they should not seek to remain illegally in the United States.

“Though we have not received any official communication on this matter, we have been proactive in engaging the US at different levels to ascertain the facts and the actions which are necessary.

“I assure the people of Dominica that we take the matter seriously, and the government is addressing this through appropriate diplomatic channels,” Prime Minister Skerrit said.

Prime Minister Drew told radio listeners that he had gotten in touch with the US Embassy based in Barbados to get clarification.

“At that time, the embassy indicated that they had not received any formal communication about this so-called list. In addition to that, our Ambassador to the United States and Organisation of American States (OAS), Jacinth Henry-Martin, she and I spoke on the matter, and a meeting was held with the State Department to seek clarification as to what this is about.”

Last week, the US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said while she could “speak a little bit about it”, Washington is committed to protecting its citizens “by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process in particular”.

“As laid out in President Trump’s Executive Order 14161, ‘Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats’, the visa adjudication process has got to ensure that US-bound foreign travellers do not pose a threat to the national security and public safety of the United States. That is I think a very low bar and is a bar that every nation should be able to adopt,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post newspaper reported that Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts-Nevis, and St Lucia were listed in a leaked State Department memo signed by Secretary of State  Marco Rubio and circulated to US diplomatic missions.

The four Caribbean countries named in the memo have previously defended their citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes as legitimate tools for economic development, with safeguards including rigorous due diligence.

Like Skerrit, Prime Minister Drew confirmed that the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries involved in the CBI will, in the coming month, formally establish a regional regulatory body to oversee the programme under which foreign investors are granted citizenship in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the islands.

“We have also sought to do this in close collaboration with international stakeholders, the EU (European Union), the UK (United Kingdom), the United States of America, all involved, so that they can see the tremendous progress that we have made.

“We want to make sure that when we say we want the sector to be properly regulated, we mean it. And this regional body is our proof of that commitment,” he added.

According to the Washington Post, the memo gives the listed governments 60 days to meet newly defined benchmarks. Governments have been given a deadline of 8:00 am (local time) on Wednesday to submit an initial action plan outlining how they intend to meet the requirements.

Prime Minister Drew said that the US State Department is currently awaiting an update from the embassy in Barbados regarding the matter and reiterated that no formal position has been conveyed to the St Kitts-Nevis government to date.

“Has it been circulating? Yes. Has it been concerning? Yes. But we have been working the diplomatic channels from day one to deal with this matter, and to deal with it even proactively,” Drew said, reaffirming the strong relationship between the twin island federation and the United States.

“We have an excellent relationship with the United States of America, a relationship that spans decades… Many of our citizens would have had tremendous positive impact on the development of the United States of America.”

“As far as I can report now, everything is normal. Our people can travel to the United States. They can apply for a visa to the United States of America. Everything remains totally normal.”