PM defends membership of ALBA

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has been defending his government's decision to join the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) dismissing suggestions that membership would harm the island’s future socio-economic development.
Last month, Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy said St. Lucia was joining Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as the newest member of the Venezuelan-led initiative.
The ALBA Council of Economic Complementation late last month announced St. Lucia’s inclusion into the grouping and since the announcement there have been expressions of concern, mainly from opposition and private sector that the decision could hurt the island’s relationship with the United States and other Western allies.