by Linda Straker
- Caribbean Investment Summit 2024 opened in Grenada on Thursday, 23 May
- 2024 Caribbean Investment Summit is first since 2020 when Covid-19 was declared pandemic
- Arton said using industry as political football damages image of programme and country
Armand Arton, President and CEO of Arton Capital wants politicians, especially those in opposition political parties, to stop using Citizenship by Investment programmes as political football before elections because their utterances are not only damaging the programme, but the image of the countries offering migration programmes.
Speaking on the topic “The Innovation imperative for Caribbean CBI resilience” at the Caribbean Investment Summit 2024 which opened in Grenada on Thursday, 23 May 2024, he said, “Politicians please stop using our industry as a political football before elections.”
“Before a general election every opposition party promises to stop the programme with damaging facts about how it works, but when they come into power, they never stop it,” he said to over 200 participants at the summit at the Radisson Conference Centre.
Following his presentation, Arton, who founded his company in 2006 said, “No politician must ever blame the CBI or CIP for problems in a country and then promise to stop the programme if they get into power. They are all continuing it but the damage toward the programme is already done. The damage is the reputation of the programme and that making it something that has lost its value,” he said. Arton’s company is a global citizenship financial advisory services firm based in Montreal, Canada.
“The hurt is not only done to the programme, but to the image of the country. When for example diplomats are reading these stories, what they see is the negative and they are now expressing concerns because of what they see in the news before elections,” he said.
The 2024 Caribbean Investment Summit is the first summit since 2020 when Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic. With the theme of “Resilience: Strengthening the adaptability and sustainability of Caribbean Investment Migration in the face of Global Market Changes and Increasing scrutiny from the EU, UK and USA,” the summit is described as the paramount summit for the Caribbean Citizenship by Investment community unique positioned to address the evolving challenges and advancements with the sector.
Arton Capital, a leader in citizenship and residency programs globally, understands the impact of cheap political tactics on such programs. It is noteworthy that the National Democratic Congress in Grenada chose not to engage in negative rhetoric about the Grenada Citizenship program during their 2022 campaign, highlighting a departure from cheap political tactics often seen in politics.