GENEVA, Switzerland – Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, delivered the keynote address at the Oxford University Said Business School graduation ceremony on 18 July 2023.
The subject of his speech was responsible leadership. Furthermore, he used the example of Antigua and Barbuda, an island state with limited natural, financial, and mineral resources, facing significant challenges within the global community.
The problems addressed included:
- Climate change;
• The retreat of multilateralism;
• The obstacles placed in the way of Antigua and Barbuda’s banking sector by more powerful countries.
Prime minister Browne used Antigua and Barbuda’s leaders who have demonstrated innovation, creativity, and resilience as key points to transform the country from an economic backwater at its independence in 1981 to a modern society today.
Prime minister Browne believed that the audience he was addressing, made up of current and future leaders, had in their hands the opportunity to contribute to an economically prosperous world in which Antigua and Barbuda could have a bright future.
The prime minister pointed out that, thanks to responsible leadership, innovation, and creativity, Antigua and Barbuda is one of the most modern countries in the Caribbean with a high-preforming education sector, sustainable growth, developed seaports, and airport to be considered as a high-income country according to the IMF.
Finally, the courageous way in which Antigua and Barbuda handled the COVID crisis and the reopening country’s borders to air and sea travel in the Caribbean paved the way for other countries in the region.