BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS - Advanced Party paves the way in Philly In order to lay the ground work for the Prime Minister’s delegation, the group met with various city officials including Carol Brooks, City of Philadelphia Manager of International Trade; Leonard Karp, President & CEO of Philadelphia International Medicine; Meryl Levitt, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism & Marketing Corporation; and Tony Ceballos, Director, Philadelphia U.S. Export Assistance Center. In the opening session, Ms. Brooks outlined the basic protocols that the city normally follows and assured the group of Philadelphia’s commitment to facilitate the mission.
Later, during the meeting with Mr. Karp, Amb. Williams outlined the various ways in which Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM) and St. Kitts-Nevis can mutually benefit by formalizing exchange programmes between our Federation and the many medical institutions that comprise the organization. He also pointed to the existence of various medical schools in St. Kitts & Nevis, in addition to a biometric research facility. A physician in his own right, Dr. Williams asserted the importance of delivering first class medical services at all levels.
At the tourism oriented meeting with Meryl Levitt and her delegation, Abdullah Skerritt made the case for establishing line of co-operation between the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and its Philadelphia counterpart. Mr. Skerritt cited the distinct parallels between the two jurisdictions in terms of the cultural and historic significance that each plays in the Caribbean and the United States, respectively. “Such lines of co-operation are easier to establish once certain commonalities are identified,” stated Mr. Skerritt, as he and Ms. Levitt discussed the particular challenges that they both face.
Honorary Consul Nero, who received the news of his accreditation while en-route between meetings, pointed out to Tony Ceballos that there were already various examples of St. Kitts-Nevis businesses making significant purchases from the City of Philadelphia, in particular, and the State of Pennsylvania in general. In fact, the figures released by Mr. Ceballos’ Export Assistance Center showed that the state’s exports to the Federation totaled just under $9 million US in 2008. “For a population of about 45 thousand, this is tremendous,” affirmed Abdullah Skerritt, as the group reviewed the figures.
The day, which proved to be a long but productive one, included a site inspection of the proposed accommodation facilities and ended with a tour of the Simeone Automotive Museum, the site of the planned Kittitian social event. According to Ms. Ogletree who’s organizational skills are pivotal to the entire project, this venue was carefully selected as it is quite the ideal place to close such a historic event.
