ROADTOWN Tortola, BVI, September 25th, 2012  --  Vice Premier of Greenland Mr. Jens B. Fredriksen, other fellow Heads of Government, Heads of Delegations, Ministers, delegates and guests, a pleasant good afternoon.

I would like to first express my appreciation to OCTA Chairman Premier Kuupik Kleist for the opportunity to sit on this distinguished panel alongside my colleagues from the Caribbean region as we discuss financial services and tourism in the context of green growth, our theme, as well as within the context of the ongoing revision of the Overseas Association Decision (OAD), which I will touch on later.

As most of you are aware, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) economy is a services-based economy that remains highly dependent on tourism and financial services. These two critical industries account for nearly 50% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Notably financial services is the major contributor to government revenue; and tourism is the economy’s top employer. Both help to drive commerce and retail sector activity.

My Government is actively taking steps to green our economy in our drive toward sustainability.

We began this calendar year by holding a series of workshops on this very topic to begin sensitising local stakeholders to the environment’s value to the economy and methods of incorporating it into economic decision making.

We followed-up on this exercise by approving the Virgin Islands Climate Change Policy and have since continued to forge ahead on the “green” front. More specifically, in the financial services and tourism sectors, we are primarily focused on improving the growth, sustainability and competitiveness of these two industries.

In the financial services sector, growth has been dampened as a result of the lingering effects of the global financial crisis in Europe and the United States (US), uncertainty in international financial markets and a stronger global regulatory environment.

One of the lessons learned coming out of the crisis was that we must diversify our financial services and tourism sectors to lessen our vulnerability to external economic shocks. In recognition of this, my Government is moving quickly to tap new markets in Asia and South America where economic growth remains robust.

We have also begun taking steps to diversify our financial services offerings in a bid to move up the value chain from company incorporation business to added value services related to banking and back office services such as Accounting. Diversification of the sector will require innovation and we have begun incubating ideas following the formation earlier this year of a Financial Services Business Development Committee (FSBDC) composed of public and private sector representatives.

Maintaining our competitive edge in the global marketplace is also a top priority, but one that we understand requires more than attractive legislation. The quality of our workforce is a key feature of our jurisdiction and we are taking steps to boost the calibre of professionals working in the industry. Already we have begun offering courses, training and certifications at our local community college to support this goal.

In terms of our longer term strategy, my Government has introduced this school term the subjects of financial services and tourism into the primary school curriculum in order to begin positioning our young people at an earlier age for success in theses industries.

Before I turn to tourism, I would just like to mention that I am very concerned about the inclusion within the new Financial Services chapter of the draft OAD, of a reference to “convergence of legislation” between the EU and OCTs related to financial services. This language is not in keeping with the text agreed between the Member States (MS) and OCTs in the Joint Position Paper (JPP) signed in New Caledonia in 2011.

Turning to tourism, my Government is also doing a number of exciting things related to green growth. One of our main goals is to rebrand the territory as a sustainable tourism destination.

In the hotel and accommodations sector, we are piloting the Sustainable Tourism Environmental Programme (STEP) with a small group of properties. The programme is aimed at helping local hotels manage their dwellings in an environmentally friendly way. Once completed, participating properties will be Green Globe certified.

The pilot’s success will provide us with a template for expanding the programme to hotels and properties across the territory. Additionally, a number of our local retail businesses and government agencies have taken a Green Pledge that commits them to engaging in more environmentally sustainable practices. These and other related initiatives will help the BVI to meet both our environmental goals and rebranding of the territory as a sustainable tourism destination.

From an educational perspective, we have re-launched our Technical and Vocational School to train students in areas that help support the maintenance of our yachting industry. The linkage between this institution and the marine side of our tourism industry will lead to sustained employment for our young people in the sector.

I should mention that my Government is not only involved in greening our own economy, but we are also actively engaged in regional “greening” efforts related to the protection of the environment.

In 2013 the BVI and Grenadian governments will co-host the Summit of Caribbean Political and Business Leaders on Necker Island (BVI) that will officially launch the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (Challenge). The Challenge entails a series of commitments made by Caribbean countries to, among other things, improve the management of their marine and coastal resources, mobilise funds for conservation and establish a sustainable funding mechanism.

My Government has actually pledged to exceed the Challenge’s commitment calling for the protection of 20% of marine and coastal resources by 2020 under our own BVI Protected Areas System Plan.

These are just a few of the BVI’s green initiatives which I hope gives you an idea of how we approach green growth in the context of a services-based economy.

Before I close I would like to sincerely thank Premier Kleist as OCTA Chairman for taking the time to travel to the BVI earlier this year to discuss with me and my Government his green growth agenda and to personally familiarise himself with our development and related challenges.

Mr. Chairman this panel session is a clear indication of your commitment to an inclusive green growth agenda and I commend you.

Thank you and I look forward to the remainder of this panel discussion.

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