( Real News Antigua ) While many residents are anticipating the return of a United States
Embassy to Antigua and Barbuda, the wait will be quite a bit longer,
just shy of two years, an official says.
Following the announcement by the US State Department that two
embassies would likely be sited in the Eastern Caribbean, Prime
Minister Gaston Browne had been expecting that a decision would
follow shortly after.
However, Linda Taglialatela, the United States Ambassador to
Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, says this decision will be made
in about 18 months.
The ambassador made that disclosure on Wednesday afternoon, July
12, during a reception hosted by the Embassy of the United States to
celebrate 247 years of America’s independence.
The event was held at Jumby Bay, and there had been wide
expectation, among the audience, of an announcement on this
occasion.
Other Eastern Caribbean governments are also awaiting word from
the United States on where the two new US embassies will be
located.
Decades ago, Antigua and Barbuda was home to a US Embassy,
which was then relocated to Barbados.
If the Embassy were to return here, it would make the visa-
application process more economically feasible and be more
convenient for residents, says Senator Shawn Nicholas of the United
Progressive Party.
