From Caribbean News Now

DUBAI, UAE — While actor Robert De Niro’s rant on Donald Trump was making media waves around the globe, he was part of a delegation that included the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, on a mission to promote investments in the picturesque twin-islands of Antigua and Barbuda.

De Niro, a special envoy of Antigua and Barbuda, is an investor himself, together with Australian billionaire James Packer, in a real estate project in Barbuda. Packer has already invested in the actor’s Nobu restaurants.

“It’s a beautiful place, that’s why I’m involved in this project,” De Niro shared during a conference in Dubai, sponsored by Arton Capital, a global citizenship advisory firm. Speaking alongside Browne, the actor was keen to reassure Middle East investors that this is a sound economic proposition.

UAE has a number of prominent investors in the island. One such investor is the developer of the Callaloo Cay project, an exclusive US$150 million resort. Proactive in its bid to attract UAE investment, Antigua and Barbuda is opening an embassy and a trade and economic centre in Abu Dhabi, the first Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to do so.

In addition to the long list of concessions for foreign investors, such as a 25-year tax exemption, another significant benefit is Antigua’s citizenship by investment program (CIP), which fuels local economic growth. Of all the countries with an active CIP, Antigua and Barbuda’s passport has been ranked as the most powerful in the Caribbean and the fourth best in the world by Arton’s Passport Index, a global ranking of the world’s passports. Citizens can travel visa-free to more than 124 countries including Canada, Europe’s Schengen zone, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, among others.

“The CIP program for the twin-island has become popular thanks to the level of trust built due to the continued bilateral economic developments and favourable investment climate,” said John Hanafin, CEO of Arton Capital.

On the subject of global citizenship, “We can have our differences, but as the world gets smaller and people become more dependent on each other, we have no choice but to be concerned about our own self perseverance,” shared De Niro.

While the government of Antigua and Barbuda has solidified relations with the United Arab Emirates it is also forging closer ties with Qatar. Prior to the UAE trip, and at the initiative of Armand Arton, president of Arton Capital and special envoy of Antigua, Browne and his delegation were invited to Qatar, where they met with Prime Minister, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and the cultural adviser at the Emiri Diwan, Dr Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari.

IMAGE:
Special Envoys of Antigua and Barbuda Robert De Niro and Armand Arton (L) discuss investments in Dubai. (PRNewsFoto/Arton Capital)

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