Castries, May 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The House of Assembly gathered in a live broadcast joint session to mark the Third Session of the Twelfth Parliament of Saint Lucia. The Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy and Minister for Justice and National Security, Hon. Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre delivered his Budget Policy. Members received the Throne Speech delivered by Acting Governor General, Mr. Cyril E. M. Charles. “As a small nation we must be proud as many visitors continue to visit our shores, for recreation and relaxation. That we have developed a world-class destination for honeymooners. A status we have enjoyed for many years.” Mr. Charles stated. Mr. Charles added that “The economy is on the rise again, foreign investor confidence is back, and the future looks brighter.” The Acting Governor General requested that all attendees and listeners to embrace new economic opportunities and that despite the existing challenges, Saint Lucia is still a peaceful nation. He made a call for support towards the Saint Lucian police force to tackle crime in the island. Saint Lucia displayed resilience after the Covid-19 pandemic and the nation will be better positioned to address existing issues that the pandemic exposed. The post-pandemic events in the CARICOM region have recorded positive recovery rates, Hon. Prime Minister Pierre stated that “in the tourism-dependent economies, since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, Guyana, Saint Lucia and Barbados recorded the highest growth rates; Saint Lucia recorded the second highest growth rate after Guyana.” Hon. Prime Minister Pierre highlighted that Saint Lucia’s 2022 GDP has shown a real growth rate of 18.1 per cent, the best-performing sectors were the agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors in 2022. And the largest contributors to real growth were in the accommodation and restaurant sectors. Prime Minister Pierre emphasised that “Of the total, 10.8 per cent points were accommodation and food, services, tourism grew by 58 per cent, stay over arrival 78.7 per cent while cruise arrival has increased by 273,8 per cent; these developments were due to the removal of all Covid-19 protocols in September 2022.” Saint Lucia’s unemployment rate reached a sharp decline of 19% and the youth unemployment rate at 25.9%, the lowest since 2010. “The strategic choices for the 2023-2024 budget will focus primarily on three areas, Health, National Security, and economic sustainability – the theme for this year’s budget,” Prime Minister Pierre had stated. The Government of Saint Lucia aims to secure economic development through 2023, in various sectors in the economy, this includes access to affordable and quality healthcare in the country. Saint Lucia’s growth rates for 2023 are the perfect opportunity for discerning investors to contribute to effective economic development through Citizenship by Investment (CIP) Saint Lucia. CIP Saint Lucia offers investors second citizenship in exchange for donations or contributions to Saint Lucia’s economy. There are four investment options that offer unique benefits that include securing investors’ families, future generations, and their wealth. These investment options are as follows: