Road Town, Tortola -  A four member Virgin Islands delegation, headed by Director of the BVI London Office Mr. Kedrick Malone, will represent the Territory at the Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTA) Ministerial Conference and the 2009 OCT - European Union (EU) Forum which are being held in Brussels this week.

The delegation also includes Assistant Secretaries in the Premier’s Office Ms. Najan Christopher and Mrs. Elvia Smith-Maduro and Director of Trade Ms. Lizette George. The BVI’s participation in the OCTA Ministerial Conference and the EU-OCT Forum is being funded by the EU.

The team left here on Sunday for the ministerial conference which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24 while the two-day forum will be held from March 25-26.

At the ministerial conference, Mr. Malone is expected to deliver a report on the financial services partnership working party, which the BVI chaired during the past year. Mr. Malone will present a second report from the BVI in its capacity as the Deputy Regional Authorising Officer, a function carried out by Financial Secretary Mr. Neil Smith.

This report will focus on the state of play of the European Development Fund regional programming.

The future relations between the EU and OCTs will be one of the main agenda items for the EU-OCT forum. European Commission for Development Mr. Andris Piebalgs is scheduled to make a presentation on the “Elements for a new partnership between the EU and the OCTs”.

There will also be a panel discussion on the three objectives of the new EU-OCT partnership. These are enhancing OCTs competitiveness, reducing the vulnerability of the OCTs and strengthening their resilience and promoting cooperation.

On day two of the forum, the new treaty on the functioning of the EU and the possible changes and consequences for EU-OCT relations will be discussed along with the state of implementation of the ninth and tenth European Development Fund (EDF).

The BVI is one of 17 members of the Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTA), established in 2003. OCTA is designed to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information for the mutual benefit of members, recommend action to member governments, develop effective working relationships with EU institutions and defend the collective interests of members.