Good afternoon to the people of the Virgin Islands and the Members of the Press Corps.

I am pleased to be joined by Deputy Premier Hon. Lorna Smith OBE to provide an update on our visit to the United Kingdom(UK) last week.

Also present is the Deputy Premier’s Executive Director ofInternational Business, Ms. Ayana Glasgow, who accompanied us to London along my Chief Advisor Mr. Kedrick Malone. Wewere also joined by Acting Director of the BVI London Office,Ms. Tracy Bradshaw.

I will now update you on our various political engagements and activities, including our meeting with the new United Kingdom(UK) Minister for the Overseas Territories (OT) Hon. Stephen Doughty. The Deputy Premier will thereafter provide an update on the financial services meetings attended.

First, however, permit me to provide a bit of context.

As you are aware, the UK held a General Election on 4 July. The Labour Party won in a landslide victory after 14 years of Conservative Party rule. There is a new UK Government led by Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Kier Starmer and the political composition of the UK Parliament has considerably changedheavily favouring Labour. There are many new Members of Parliament, as well as new Committee and Sub-Committee Chairs.

This dramatic shift in British politics, and the appointment of a new Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon. David Lammy and new Minister for the Overseas Territories; prompted me to lead a delegation to London to directly engage the new OT Minister and UK Parliamentarians to ensure they are aware of our interests, needs, and desire for a new modern partnershipbetween the UK and Virgin Islands based on consultation, democracy, sustainable development, climate resilience, and self-determination.

In terms of activities at the UK Parliament, we attended a reception hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons the Rt. Hon. Lindsey Hoyle on behalf of the Virgin Islands. My delegation had the opportunity to meet many of the new Members of Parliament and Appointed Members of the House of Lords, as well as longtime friends of the BVI, and several British academics and businesspeople. Our Leader of the Opposition Hon. Ronnie Skelton and Hon. Marlon Penn were also present at the event.

In my keynote speech to the attendees, I shared with them the negative effects of climate change on the Virgin Islands and also updated on our recovery after Tropical Storm Ernesto and the two other extreme weather events we experienced prior to that. 

I also called for UK support for climate change mitigation andadaptation to help the Virgin Islands build its climate resilience. I emphasised that such a partnership could serve as a model of how countries that are among the major CO2 emitters can assistSmall Island Developing States (SIDS) that are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. 

Of course, I expressed our gratitude for the recent support ofHMS Trent that remains on standby in the Caribbean to assist in the event of a hurricane or further extreme weather.

In terms of the world economy, I gave assurances that the Virgin Islands does not tolerate any form of economic crime and will continue to be a strong partner of the UK and other jurisdictionsin the fight against illicit finance and application of economic sanctions.

On governance, I highlighted the Virgin Islands’ staunchcommitment to good governance and our undertaking of the most comprehensive governance reform in the history of the Territory that has considerably strengthened our governance framework and will help to improve our institutions and systems of government.

Finally, I emphasised the importance of turning the page on the UK-Virgin Islands’ recent difficulties and looking ahead towarda new modern partnership in which we work together as partners to tackle the pressing challenges of today and to take advantage of the opportunities to build resilience and prosperity.   

Separately, I had the privilege of meeting select parliamentarians with whom we discussed these matters in greater detail. They included Adam Jogee MP and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Commonwealth, Baroness Verewho is the Shadown Parliamentary secretary to the Treasury, and Baroness Brown who is the Chair of Climate Change Adaptation Subcommittee.

Given the importance of climate change, we also met with UK officials from various government departments, as well as private sector experts, on solutions to accessing climate finance.

We also met with senior executives of various news organizations sharing pertinent information about the Virgin Islands.  The engagement was very good.

In terms of bilateral relations, I had the privilege of meeting Minister Doughty who is no stranger to me. We previously met in his former role as Shadow Minister for the Overseas Territories. He has visited the Virgin Islands and is a friend of the Overseas Territories. 

I of course thanked the Minister for the opportunity to meet. We discussed the threat of climate change and the need for UK support to assist the Virgin Islands with adaptation and mitigation, including through their contributions to the United Nations (UN). He confirmed that the issue will be placed on the agenda of the annual Joint Ministerial Council slated for November.

In terms of follow-up on the COI, I updated the Minister on the good work and dedication of everyone involved to get us to the end point of the process. I confirmed that there is one governance reform left to be implemented that the House of Assembly will complete upon my return. The Minister is looking forward to receiving an update that it is done.

He also looks forward to the various bills that the House of Assembly has passed going through their final checks and receiving assent by the Governor.

I raised the question of lifting the Order in Council which the UK has tied to implementing the governance reforms.

However, the Minister wishes to visit the Virgin Islands as was done by the previous three OT Ministers so that he can make his own assessment and recommendation. The earliest his schedule will permit travel to the Territory is November.

The Governor and Deputy Premier were both present for the meeting.

In terms of follow-up, I will officially write to the Minister to request that the Order in Council is lifted once the House of Assembly passes the last governance reform bill. 

I will encourage the UK to keep to its word as we strive to build a new modern partnership between the UK and Virgin Islands on the basis of consultation, democracy, sustainable development, climate resilience and self-determination.

With that, I will close and turn over to the Deputy Premier.