ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, October 7th, 2011 – Cabinet has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and cooperation between the Government of the Virgin Islands and Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) in the United Kingdom (UK) to help strengthen links between public service professionals, non-governmental organisations and businesses in the county and the Virgin Islands.

The official signing of the MOU is expected to take place during the upcoming Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) meeting in the UK in November when the Premier and delegation will visit Hertfordshire County. In December 2010 during the OTCC, Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE met with officials of the county and expressed Government’s support for the expanded partnership.

The expanded partnership spearheaded by the BVI London Office builds on the existing partnership between the BVI National Olympic Committee and the ‘Hertfordshire is Ready for Winners Partnership’ (HRFWP) set up under London Organising Committee as part of the drive to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Premier O’Neal said, “I commend the BVI Olympic Committee for its vision in being the first to sign up for the ‘Ready for Winners’ programme and made it easy for me to see the expanded opportunity for the Territory.”

“The expected outcome of this partnership is to ensure capacity building and professional development of Virgin Islanders in the UK,” Premier O’Neal said. “This MOU is strategically aligned with the UK Government’s vision for its relationship with the Overseas Territories.”

The MOU is expected to encourage innovation, information exchange, share best practices and generate experiences to enhance service delivery, employment and educational opportunities and strengthen the existing links among the participants.

According to Director of the BVI London Office Mr. Kedrick Malone, “This relationship is critically important to the Virgin Islands because it offers a significant opportunity for the Territory to build its human resource capacity and professional expertise at little or no cost.”

“This partnership will also allow professionals throughout the Territory to connect with the vast pool of expertise in the UK that can lend informal assistance and advice in areas where we are seeking to grow and develop,” he explained.

Mr. Malone said he is pleased that the BVI London Office has previously worked with the county in identifying links for art and culture. He added they continue to work closely with the University of Hertfordshire and the special needs agencies.

In the MOU, cooperation is specifically identified in the areas of sports, education, higher education opportunities, community engagement, supporting persons with physical and learning disabilities, developing community links, youth offending/behavioural interventions, economic development, graduate work experience changes and youth development.

The Government of the Virgin Islands continues to establish and develop formal links between a range of public service professionals and business organisations in the United Kingdom.
 

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