The Rt. Hon. , Minister of State for the
UK Overseas Territories, has arrived to the British Virgin
Islands for a two-day visit.
The Minister's programme will include meetings with Premier
Honorable Dr. Natalio Wheatley; Leader of the Opposition
Honorable Ronnie Skelton; members of the Virgin Islands
Government; senior public officials, and a range of community
representatives to discuss governance reforms and progress.
The Minister will also meet with the Acting Commissioner of
Police, Jackie Vanterpool, to understand security challenges and
progress on implementation of the law enforcement review. He will
also seek an update from the government on the implementation of
beneficial ownership transparency, in line with commitments to
deliver on this important reform.
The new UK Government is also committed to tackling the climate
change and nature emergencies, and is keen to work in partnership
with OTs on this crucial agenda.
On his arrival, the Minister said:
I am looking forward to meeting a wide range of government and
community stakeholders during my visit. Our new UK Government is
committed to working in partnership with the elected governments
and Governors of the Overseas Territories on shared priorities
and responsibilities, ranging from governance and security to
climate change and nature.
I will be meeting with a range of stakeholders to assess progress
made on governance reforms, the challenges of security in the
British Virgin Islands and on financial services accountability
and transparency – alongside discussing joint work on other key
issues such as climate change and nature.
It is vital that the Commission of Inquiry recommendations are
implemented in full, and that plans are in place to ensure
reforms are sustainable and will lead to long term change which
will benefit the lives of those who live in the British Virgin
Islands.
