NEW YORK, Sept 24, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre has held talks with the chief executive officer of Saudi Eksab, Yazeed Saleh AlYahya, seeking potential investment in St. Lucia’s development.
The Saudi Arabia Saudi Eksab was launched in October 2025 with a mandate to make equity investments in emerging and frontier markets, aiming to deliver both financial returns and social and economic impact.
Pierre said that the meeting builds on St. Lucia’s partnership with Saudi Arabia, including the Saudi Fund for Development’s support for the reconstruction of St. Jude Hospital, south of the capital.
“St. Lucia cannot borrow its way to the future. We need partners willing to invest alongside us and share in the returns. Saudi Eksab was created to do exactly that in markets like ours, and we want to work with them,” Pierre said.
He said that the discussions with the Saudi Eksab outlined his country’s need for more financing options given that small island developing states like is have relied heavily on borrowing to fund development.
Pierre said that small island states have been adding to public debt and limiting their ability to respond when disasters or economic shocks hit.
“Equity investment offers another way to bring in capital: investors take an ownership stake in the projects they fund, without the government necessarily taking on a new loan,” he said, adding that the two parties discussed housing and tourism development as one of the first areas for cooperation.
He said access to affordable, well-built housing remains one of the most pressing needs for St. Lucian families and that the meeting ended with an agreement to explore Saudi Eksab investing in housing and tourism development.
“Saudi Eksab is keen to partner with St. Lucia. Our mandate is to invest where our capital can deliver real socio-economic impact as well as sustainable returns, and housing is an area where both can be achieved. We look forward to working with the Government to turn today’s discussion into concrete opportunities,” said Al Yahya.
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