Against the backdrop of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Antigua and Barbuda has marked a key milestone in expanding its global diplomatic footprint, cementing deeper bilateral ties with Azerbaijan through a new visa waiver agreement. This agreement stood out as one of the most tangible outcomes of a jam-packed, productive week of diplomatic negotiations led by E.P. Chet Greene, the island nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on the margins of the annual UN gathering.
The formal signing of the visa waiver accord took place during a dedicated ceremony between Greene and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov. Under the terms of the agreement, eligible passport holders from both countries will no longer be required to secure advance travel visas for visits between the two nations, a change expected to boost people-to-people exchanges, business connectivity and tourism links moving forward.
The visa agreement with Azerbaijan was just one component of Greene’s full schedule of bilateral meetings throughout the UNGA week, during which he engaged with core diplomatic partners of Antigua and Barbuda on a wide range of issues aligned with shared national interests.
A top priority on Greene’s agenda was updating international partners on Antigua and Barbuda’s ongoing preparations to host the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), a landmark gathering for the 56-nation bloc. This preparation work took center stage during Greene’s bilateral discussion with Chris Elmore, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.
Greene also held a series of productive meetings with diplomatic representatives from multiple African nations, focused on aligning positions on shared global priorities and building support for the candidacy of Maria Espinosa for United Nations Secretary-General. During separate talks with Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, Greene formally introduced Espinosa to the two senior African diplomats to advance her candidacy bid.
In addition, Greene carved out time to meet with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The two leaders reviewed Antigua and Barbuda’s foreign policy stances across a range of regional and global issues, and also discussed Espinosa’s candidacy for the top UN post during the conversation. The full week of engagements underscores Antigua and Barbuda’s active role in multilateral diplomacy and its push to strengthen bilateral ties across diverse regions of the world, according to official notes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda.