Premier plugs blue economy, disaster resilience in Saudi Arabia
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has promoted the Virgin Islands’ blue economy and the need for stronger disaster resilience while attending high-level talks in the Middle East.
Speaking at the World Government Summit, Dr Wheatley outlined the territory’s economic priorities and highlighted lessons drawn from recent hurricanes and global economic shifts, even as the territory seeks to diversify its markets and strengthen global partnerships.
He said the Virgin Islands must deepen cooperation beyond traditional Western partners and learn from global best practice.
“We believe the rest of us, besides the West, have to cooperate more. We have to have more solidarity. We have to have more functional cooperation. And we must also learn from best practice, which takes place around the world,” Wheatley stated.
The Premier expressed admiration for the region’s development strategies, noting their emphasis on sustainability and quality of life.
“We’re extremely impressed with what’s happening here in the United Arab Emirates. The way that you’ve used this investment not just to generate wealth, but a sustainable type of living. Making sure that persons have good health care, good education, access to quality homes. And this is something that we would like to replicate in the Virgin Islands and in the wider region,” Dr Wheatley said.
Intention to expand trade and tourism links
The Premier emphasised the territory’s intention to expand trade and tourism links beyond its traditional reliance on the United States.
“But of course, we want to diversify our markets. We want more business coming from the Middle East, from India, etc. We are going on a big trade mission later this year to India, to ASEAN,” he said, adding that the territory hopes to extend its airport runway to facilitate long-haul flights from the Middle East and Asia.
Addressing the importance of the blue economy, Premier Wheatley said the marine sector remains central to the territory’s prosperity. “We have a large charter boat sector similar to Grenada, and of course that has been able to sustain us very well,” he stated.
However, he stressed that economic growth must be matched by resilience planning, recalling the impact of the 2017 hurricanes.
“The Virgin Islands was struck by two devastating Category 5 hurricanes in 2017. It disrupted our marine sector, tourism sector, destroyed homes, government buildings, etc,” Dr Wheatley said.
He also pointed to the need for disaster risk mitigation tools to reduce reliance on borrowing. “So we don’t just want investment, we want to invest in sustainability and also disaster risk reduction. Extremely important for us in the Virgin Islands as we seek to continue to build our economy and build our people,” Wheatley stated.
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Waste of money. Look at who we have negotiating on our behalf. The BVI is royally screwed.
leh we establish a blue zone for the rich people dem
UAE has a highly open diversified economy with expats making 90% of the population. don’t think we are mentally ready to replicate! perhaps in few hundreds of years
Definitely the expats in UAE doesn’t have an us-against-them attitude when they walk into the new life there. Lots of our expats, thankfully not all, are quite mean, brash, covetous and unfairly critical of locals. This is a country where when you come, if you work hard, everybody eats and have a quality of life that is good.
Unfortunately, reading online blogs, as a local, these days, it seems there is a takeover attempt by some of our expats who seems to take the attitude that they are hated and treated like dirt. If not given the same opportunities as a local, there is a big diatribe about how terrible we all are and how sinful and sick our country is. All this while enjoying a quality of life that they will not at home with lots of U.S.D in their bank account that they can move elsewhere if they wanted to.
So UAE, there’s the land space and their expats are not snarky and sharkish calling locals dumb and lazy and telling them go to America where they were born. The majority of locals are not born in the U.S. and who are came home after a couple of days or weeks after birth and have been here ever since so know nothing about the U.S. until in most cases, college/university.
So what would be a better ‘idea’ is if we showed each other love for the Bible says we reap whatsoever we sow. Show love and it will be right back at yah.
The Premier and members of his government do travel quite a bit. This is coming from someone who believes that government needs to travel but not with this kind of frequency.
However, one has to begin asking, is all this travelling to these far away and expensive places essential or necessary? Is there any value?
Are these trips Essential Travel that will eventually improve the functioning or the government or enhance revenues?
Im am becoming doubtful that these overseas trips are essential. They are looking more and more like expensive vacations being taken at the expense of the the people of this country.
Another note, these folks are always on the go. It’s as if this island nation has jumbies that are casuing them to keep running away.
They are always travelling ensuring they use up every last designaed dime of their travel budget.
Makes me wonder when do they have time to attend to the affairs of the country if they are spending this much of their time on these trips.
Is there any accounting for these travels? How many times the Premier has been overseas since being elected to office?
How many times all the other cabinet members have travelled abroad too? Most importantly, what benefit has all this travelling gained for the territory?
I am having some reservations here. I am not seeing the value in all this travelling. All I am seeing are growing waist lines, buldging over the belt buckle bellies, fancy dinners and photo ops. The travelling is not travelling. The math is not mathing.
Totally agree, this commentator would suggest it’s more delusions of grandeur and that’s really concerning. The people should perhaps demand that until such time as the all islands current problems are resolved, all foreign travel should perhaps be banned. That might be an incentive to get the real work that matters completed.
Dull lek Sheep!
home boi in the back look like he dont like we template loool
all just talk you think these rich people care about climate and economy? once them making money everything good
look at bvi economy all the crying we doing over price control and nothing done. them big stores just gladd to see them 500% increase profits year after year and seeing how far them could push unitl we fall down or become homeless
Study the photo. It speak volumes…loudly
The UAE is an exceedingly wealthy Gulf state, feeding the world with energy. They also happen to operate in tandem with the other exceedingly wealthy Gulf states. The idea of a small caribbean island aspiring to emulate the UAE, is out of this world!
One other thing, the UAE is positioning itself to compete with tax havens such as the BVI. They want it all.
“Blue Economy” How much $$$ can he stuff into his blue slacks pockets
MIX,and,MINGLE!
Continue to travel, and show the world who we are,Premier Wheatley!