Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley is currently away from the Territory at the first ‘Regional Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean’ in Nassau, Bahamas.

The inaugural event is being held on August 16 and 17, in preparation for COP 27, with the goal of devising a regional position on climate change mitigation.

Premier Wheatley will join other government heads from Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos.

The Honourable Premier will also attend Agri-Investment Forum and Expo II in Trinidad and Tobago from August 19 to 21. The initiative is a platform established to stimulate conversations among key stakeholders and to revolutionise the agricultural sector in Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension across CARICOM Member States.

Honourable Kye M. Rymer has been appointed to act as Premier and Minister of Finance from August 15 to 21. Premier Wheatley returns to the Territory on August 22.  

Honourable Rymer’s appointment is in accordance with Section 55 (1) of the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 which states, “If the Premier is expected to be absent from the Virgin Islands for more than forty-eight hours, the Governor shall authorise the Deputy Premier to perform the functions of the office of Premier; and the Governor shall revoke this authority on the return to the Virgin Islands of the Premier.” 

NOTES:

COP 27 will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to 20, 2022. This summit brings the relevant parties together to fulfill their pledges and commitments towards delivering the objectives of the Paris Agreement - to limit global warming to well below two (2) degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Read more here - https://www.cop27.eg/ 

Photograph attached.

Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley