PM Browne Warns Against Division, Urges Unity and Discipline in 2026 New Year’s Address

Full New Year’s Address (As Delivered)

New Year’s Address to the Nation 2026

By The Honourable Gaston A. Browne,

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

31st December 2025

My Fellow Citizens & Residents,

As Antigua and Barbuda crosses the threshold into a new year, we do so not by chance—but purposefully:

With discipline.

Optimism

Sacrifice.

And by collective resolve.

Despite the myriad challenges; we enter this year more confident, more hopeful, and more prosperous, than at any other moment in our nation’s history.

Only weeks ago, our National Budget laid out the facts clearly:

A people-centred economy that is gaining momentum;

Social progress advancing with purpose;

And a nation standing taller, because it has chosen hard work and smart work over fantasy.

As the old wisdom reminds us, “Progress is impossible without change;” lets therefore continue to defeat fear and resistance, focusing primarily on the achievement of a positive future of resilient prosperity, for our nation and its people.

Despite the various challenges, including the escalation in global prices from increased tariffs in the United States, the year behind us was a year of bounty.

But the year before us offers something even greater—the opportunity to turn success into permanence, if we continue forward together.

Learning from the Road Behind Us

The road behind us tells the story of storms endured and challenges met.

The road ahead calls us to rise—to lift our eyes beyond immediate trials, to steady our hands in unity,

and to claim the bright future waiting for us.

Character is developed through challenges, driven by purpose and perseverance.

Through these challenges – Antigua and Barbuda has been strengthened, into a vibrant and resilient nation.

Navigating a Changing World

Even as we begin this year from a position of strength, we do not pretend that the world beyond our shores is calm.

Global currents shift from time to time, creating geopolitical challenges.

Decisions taken elsewhere ripple across small states such as ours.

Recent decisions by the Government of the United States restricting the issuance of new visas for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda have understandably caused concern among our people.

Let me therefore speak plainly—and reassuringly.

All existing United States visas held by Antiguans and Barbudans remain valid and will be honoured.

At the same time, your Government has already begun the careful and constructive work required, to establish a system through which new visas can be issued in an orderly and systematic manner.

We will continue to engage respectfully, persistently, and in good faith—guided by our long-standing relationship with the United States and by our solemn duty to protect the interests of our people.

Our relationship with the United States is one that we value and expect to continue to grow from strength to strength.

In moments like these, we remember a simple truth:

“Calm seas never made a skilled sailor.”

Our strength has never been found in gripes, but in competence;

not in anger, but in steadfast diplomacy;

not in retreat, but in resilience.

Our Caribbean Family

At times, voices may differ within our Caribbean family.

Choices may be made by others that we do not share.

However, we respect those choices—just as we have always respected the sovereign right of every CARICOM member, to act in its own perceived interest.

But it must also be said—calmly and truthfully—that Antigua and Barbuda has consistently contributed, through trade, cooperation, advocacy and shared sacrifice, to the economic and social benefits enjoyed across our Community.

We do so not out of weakness, but out of principle and solidarity.

As Marcus Garvey reminded us, “A people without unity are a people easily defeated.”

Despite moments of strain or misunderstanding, we remain steadfast in our commitment to CARICOM—recognising now, as always, that in unity there is strength, and that small states are strongest when they stand together with dignity, reason, and mutual respect.

From Budget to Living Reality

This past year, we delivered a Budget shaped not merely by numbers, but by the needs, hopes, aspirations and dignity of our people—a people-centred Budget for a people determined to move forward.

But budgets alone do not build nations.

“Vision without action is merely a dream; action without vision is useless.”

It is now our shared national task—government and citizens alike—to breathe life into that vision:

to make it real in every home, every village, every community.

A Nation as One Family

In this new year, let us resolve to see ourselves not as rivals, not as political tribes, not as divided camps— but as one family, bound together by duty and a common destiny.

For too long, petty quarrels have stolen our energy.

For too long, lies, deceptions, and reckless allegations have dragged public life into the mud.

For too long we have failed to defend and promote the paramountcy of our nation.

We cannot climb if we are always pulling each other down.

We cannot build if we are constantly tearing at the foundations.

There comes a time when a nation must choose—

between the noise of division and the music of unity;

between smallness of individuality and greatness of collective purpose;

between the easy path of conflict and the noble road of cooperation.

As Abraham Lincoln warned, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

That time for unity has come; that time is now.

Strength Beyond Size

We are a small state.

We lack economies of scale and military might.

But there is a profound difference between a weak state and a strong nation.

Strong nations endure not by might, but because their people stand together.

They face challenges with reason, not rage;

with realism, not rhetoric.

With hope not pessimism.

They understand that compromise is not surrender,

but often the condition for reciprocity.

And we know this truth:

unity at home is our first line of defense abroad. Let’s unify our country and stand in solidarity with each other.

On Leadership and Duty

Leadership is not an ornament of power;

it is a test of spirit, commitment and competence.

It is to bear responsibility not for applause, but for positive outcomes;

not for comfort, but for consequence.

For me, leadership is not privilege—it is commitment; a commitment to serve and empower.

It is the quiet courage to stand firm, when it would be easier to capitulate, or step aside;

to believe in tomorrow when today is unkind.

The road of leadership is often lonely,

but the purpose is clear: To Serve my people,

Lift them up,

Empower them

To mend our society,

and to keep alight the flame of hope entrusted to my hands.

A Call to Civic Pride and Discipline

We must now go forward with purpose, in achieving our vision of transforming our country into an economic powerhouse.

Let us elevate the pride in our land—in the beauty God has placed in our care.

Let us keep our streets clean, our neighborhoods beautiful and orderly; our public spaces worthy of a proud people.

For how we treat our surroundings reflects how we value ourselves.

Let us set aside slothfulness, bitterness, hatred and take up the discipline, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship that build nations.

Let every young person pursue a skill or a degree.

Let every adult commit to learning, improving, and contributing to nation building, irrespective of his or her political persuasion, age, color, creed or class.

As wisdom teaches us, “Excellence is never an accident; it is the result of intention and effort.”

Let us pursue a culture of excellence in all of our endeavors.

Taking Ownership of Our Future

My fellow citizens,

As we build a stakeholder society, the commanding heights of our economy must rise on the strength of our own people—working in partnership with those from abroad, who believe in our vision and invest in our future.

This is the year to believe in ourselves; in the superiority of our strength of character, resilience and talents.

Let us invest our time, our resources, and our creativity in building a resilient, competitive, globally admired nation—a lifestyle super power, a paradise for our people; first, foremost, and always.

Toward a New Dispensation

Let us walk into this new year as one people—

not perfect, but striving;

not always in agreement, but always in solidarity;

not driven by anger, but guided by the values of equity, hope, truth, love and justice.

And let us remember this:

hope is not passive.

Hope is not a wish whispered into the wind.

Hope is work.

Hope is courage.

Hope is the daily choice to lift each other up and move this nation forward—step by step, hand in hand.

If we do these things—

if we stand together as one family with empathy and support for each other;

if we honour our land with our labour and our future with our discipline;

if we choose unity over division and truth over lies and deception—

If we choose peace, love and unity over crime and violence –

then no force on earth can hold our nation back.

For there is a power that rises whenever a people walk together.

There is a strength that grows whenever a nation believes in its own destiny.

And there is a light that shines—brighter than any challenge, stronger than any doubt—whenever a country stands as one.

Closing

So let this be the year we rise.

Let this be the year we build.

Let this be the year we move as one people, with one purpose, toward a future of resilient prosperity.

May this year be guided by vision, strengthened by unity, and blessed with the guidance of Almighty God.

On behalf of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, I thank our citizens and residents for their contribution to the advancement of our nation in 2025 and I extend to our blessed nation and its people this heartfelt wish:

that the year before us may be even more prosperous, more hopeful, more peaceful, and more abundant than the bounty we created together in 2025.

May God bless you,

and may God bless our beloved Antigua and Barbuda.

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