In a message to all business stakeholders in the Virgin Islands, the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association is asking stakeholders to register their interest for the upcoming business stakeholders meeting.
In an official message, the Chamber said, “The National Sustainable Development Plan is near the completion of the first draft. The Chamber is proposing to have a follow-up consultation to have input from the private sector.”
The discussion continues
The Chamber further said, “The discussion will involve your 15-year vision for the territory and the business community. As this is a development plan, it will cut across all 17 of the UN-SDGs. Please declare your interest so that we can proceed to schedule a meeting with the consultant, Dr. June Soomer.”
The Government of the Virgin Islands is preparing to implement its proposed National Sustainable Plan and is seeking the public’s input through a series of public consultations.
The Government of the Virgin Islands has said that the National Sustainable Development Plan was created with the goal to strengthened the resilience of the society to withstand future hurricanes, pandemics, and any other crisis that may come; and to secure the future prosperity of the Virgin Islands through sustainability.
Public consultations
Public consultations will be held for one month and will allow residents the final opportunity to make comments, recommendations and submissions. The public is also urged to send their submissions to nationalplanBVI@gov.vg
In an official statement in a Government Information Services release, Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie said the National Sustainable Development Plan that is expected to guide the sustainable development of the Virgin Islands for the next 15 years, was built on inclusivity with recommendation from public and industry stakeholders from the onset.
Fahie added, “Consultation is ongoing and UN ECLAC Lead Consultant Dr. June Soomer and her team will meet this month with special groups such as farmers, fisherfolk, financial services, teams from ministries, tourism stakeholders, private sector officials, sports personnel and Civil Society Organisations to ensure that they are well represented within the plan”.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) are equally responsible for technical support for the proposed National Sustainable Development Plan execution.
The plan is said to be aligned with the national development priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals, which is an indication of national ownership of the global agenda and will help to meet international monitoring and evaluation standards, as well as allow Government to be accountable to the people of the Virgin Islands.