Prime Minister Gaston Browne has issued a strong warning against what he describes as emerging forms of “economic recolonization,” accusing powerful interests within the international system of using economic and political influence to restrict the development choices of smaller nations.

Browne raised the concern during his Emancipation Day address, drawing a direct connection between the historic economic inequalities created by slavery and colonialism and some of the challenges confronting developing countries today.

The Prime Minister said Black-led nations, particularly Small Island Developing States, continue to face systemic and discriminatory barriers within the international economic system.

“Too often, asymmetries of political and economic power are deployed to constrain sovereign policy choices, to restrict innovation, and limit development pathways,” Browne said.

“These practices risk becoming modern instruments of economic recolonization, perpetuating dependency in place of genuine partnership and shared prosperity.”

While Browne did not identify specific countries in that section of his address, he made it clear that Antigua and Barbuda intends to defend its sovereignty despite pressure from more powerful states.

The Prime Minister argued that emancipation and political independence did not automatically erase the structural inequalities created over centuries.

He said nations enriched through the unpaid labour of enslaved Africans entered the modern era with enormous accumulated capital, while countries whose resources and wealth were extracted entered independence at a disadvantage.

Those disparities, Browne argued, continue to influence access to global finance, technology and economic opportunities.

The Prime Minister later returned to the issue of external pressure, declaring that Antigua and Barbuda would not abandon its development ambitions despite what he described as “punitive and exploitative actions of the powerful.”

Browne said his administration remains committed to building Antigua and Barbuda into a resilient, innovative and prosperous “lifestyle superpower.”

“We’ll continue to defend our sovereignty, expand economic opportunity, strengthen our democracy, and advocate for a world in which every nation, regardless of size, enjoys equal dignity, equal opportunity, and shared prosperity,” he said.

The Prime Minister also called for a different model of international relations based on cooperation rather than domination.

He said the future global civilisation must be founded on genuine partnership and shared prosperity rather than exploitation and punitive action.

“Not upon might, but rights. Not an exclusion, but inclusion. Not upon power alone, but upon justice, peace, love, and mutual respect for common humanity,” Browne said.

His Emancipation Day message ultimately framed the modern defence of national sovereignty and economic independence as part of the continuing struggle for genuine emancipation.