OT meeting in London starts today; Dr. Smith representing VI
The Virgin Islands is being represented by Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith.
The Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) brings together political leaders from the Overseas Territories and UK Ministers and will be hosted by FCO Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mark Simmonds MP.
The JMC is the principle forum for reviewing and implementing the shared strategy for promoting the security and good governance of the Territories and their sustainable economic and social development.
According to the UK Government, discussions at JMC 2013 will be centred on promoting economic growth in the Territories and creating jobs.
Sessions are likely to focus on topics including: economic diversification, attracting investment, vocational education, and employment.
There are also likely to be discussions on the environment, tax and transparency, and the relationship between the territories and the European Union.
Meanwhile, the Overseas Chief Ministers and Premiers had a pre meeting on, November 25, 2013 to speak with one voice for the November 26-27, 2013 Annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial meeting.
This year will also see a major UK-Overseas Territories Business Forum being held alongside the JMC on November 28, 2013 in London. The event will bring together, for the first time, all the Overseas Territories with UK businesses and investors of all sizes, to explore the numerous exciting investment opportunities available in the Territories, a UK Government website stated.
Ministers and elected leaders of the Territories will be reviewing progress made on the commitments in the communiqué issued after the JMC in 2012 and agreeing follow up work for the next 12 months.
Ministers and senior officials from UK Government Departments will take part in the Council, reflecting the commitment set out in the White Paper for the UK to work across government with the Territories.
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14 Responses to “OT meeting in London starts today; Dr. Smith representing VI”
We're in the news again, people, and guess what, we're going to stay in the news for as long as the world perceives us as the place where greedy pirates get away with hiding treasure chests of stolen money.
Fact is, billions of dollars in tax revenue disappears from countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and even Europe and the USA, every year – money that should be going to build schools and hospitals, help feed people, provide care for the elderly, and create infrastructure for the people of their country.
Meanwhile we shout and scream like it's our God-given RIGHT to provide the service of hiding that money for the greedy. We make out like the greedy have a right to be greedy, and we're just innocently here to help them.
Question: Do we have any sense of shared humanity and obligation to our fellow people, or is it a get-what-you-can, heartless world where the nastiest slimeball wins?
Answer: It is what we make it.
So how do we feel about our role?