Antigua and Barbuda is seeking a structured repayment plan from Trinidad and Tobago for the outstanding US$60 million linked to the collapse of CLICO and BAICO, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed.
Browne told Trinidad’s CNC3 News that he held cordial discussions Tuesday evening with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in St Kitts, where the two leaders examined options for settling the remaining balance over time without straining Trinidad and Tobago’s cash flow. An initial US$40 million was paid during Persad-Bissessar’s first term in 2010.
The liability dates back to the 2008 failure of CLICO and BAICO, which sparked a regional financial crisis that hit OECS territories hard and left lingering obligations for more than a decade.
Browne said he left the meeting optimistic that Persad-Bissessar intends to complete the commitment, adding that he expects a determination in the coming weeks.
The engagement also reflects a thaw in relations after Browne last year pushed back against Persad-Bissessar’s description of CARICOM as an “unreliable partner.” He clarified that his earlier comments were directed at trade reliability, noting that Trinidad and Tobago remains a major supplier within the regional bloc and that CARICOM continues to hold commercial value for Port of Spain.
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Facial expressions of Gaston at the caricom meeting in st Kitts: money! Money! Money! Ok let me attack Trinidad prime minister about money, I wonder Marco Rubio going give me some money?
Oops! I should be making meaningful contribution to the meeting but I am possessed by money, what a terrible master.
Whuch money. Not when this lady is on her broom
Show. Hollywood. Lightss Camera Action. She is not a real person. She wont give us a dollar
they look good together.
Hump… I hope aunty Kamala comes thru for us
All cordial talks keep crashing down after that hate speach from this lady
Rolling my eye. This lady has a problem
Let her keep that money to buy a brush to scrub her tongue. She rude
Good for the BAICO policyholders. Nothing mention for the CLICO policyholders. NOTE: TRINIDAD, GUYANA, BARBADOS,ST LUCIA and most recently GRENADA have addressed paying CLICO POLICYHOLDERS 100% of their MONEY. (FACT CHECK).
The IMF, World Bank and other international and regional lending/loaning institutions ought to investigate the CLICO/BAICO debacle that is ongoing for over 17 years people are dying prematurely unable to meet their daily needs such as nutrition and medication. Note that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) delivered justice on the case of BAICO (AGOJ 2024/001) Ellis Richards and others versus Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 22nd October 2024. Just 2 days later, on 24th October 2024, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne was quoted in an article of Antigua News Room, that he was not surprised by that ruling of the CCJ. However and henceforth, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is responsible and obligated in paying the CLICO/BAICO policy holders in Antigua and Barbuda, in accordance with the ruling of the CCJ in Trinidad and Tobago.
All future loans to the OECS COUNTRIES by the IMF, WORLD BANK and other INTERNATIONAL and REGIONAL lending/loaning institutions this debacle should be address before granting any loans to the respective OECS countries
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