by Linda Straker
- Saudi Arabia Mission will become second mission, after Dubai, in Arabian Peninsula
- Grenada will also open missions in Ottawa, Canada
- New missions will bring to 13 foreign missions established by Grenada
The Government of Grenada has allocated approximately EC$1 million in the 2025 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to open a mission in Saudi Arabia as part of its strategy to promote trade and investment and provide consular services to Grenada residents in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries.
Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall is set to return from Saudi Arabia on 25 February, and he will present the budget on 7 March. Press Secretary Neila Ettienne confirmed last week that he was in that part of the Arabian Peninsula on state business and was scheduled to have several meetings with stakeholders.
“All related to finance matters,” Ettienne said via a WhatsApp text message.
In October 2023, Cornwall, on the sidelines of the 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund held in Marrakech, Morocco, signed a loan agreement with Saudi Arabia for US$100 million.
Grenada’s first loan from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) made the country the 91st nation to receive SFD financial assistance. It is unknown if Grenada has drawn down on that funding for any of the climate-smart infrastructure projects the money was scheduled to fund. The projects included constructing breakwaters, developing hydro and sewage networks, modernising the waste treatment system, and using remote sensors to monitor air pollution.
The Saudi Arabia Mission will become the second mission in the Arabian Peninsula because there is already one in Dubai, UAE. The countries of the Arabian Peninsula are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the peninsula.
Grenada, according to data from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, has a few dozen citizens in Saudi Arabia. For the first and second quarters, the amount was 1% of the 3,194 approved new citizens.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to announce who will charge that new mission. Besides Saudi Arabia, Grenada in 2025 will also be opening a new mission in Ottawa, Canada. The amount allocated for that is close to EC$800,000.
These new missions will bring to 13 the number of foreign missions established by Grenada. The others are in Washington, New York and Miami (USA), Venezuela, London, Brussels, Toronto, China, Cuba, Dubai, and Trinidad and Tobago.
