25 November 2015
The Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, is representing Jersey this week at a number of events surrounding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta.
This will be Jersey’s first attendance at events related to the CHOGM, which is a biennial summit attended by the heads of government from the UK and other Commonwealth countries with which Jersey has close and evolving relationships. The location of the CHOGM, which was established in 1971, rotates between different member states. The theme of the 2015 meeting is ‘Adding Global Value’, highlighting the ways in which Commonwealth states can work together to effect change on important global issues.
Competition, innovation, financial services and the digital economy are among the key areas that will provide the focus for discussions during the event’s three-day Business Forum, which Senator Ozouf will attend alongside more than 1,000 business delegates.
Senator Ozouf also participated in the CHOGM’s People’s Forum, which aims to engage the Commonwealth’s civil societies so that member countries can become more resilient to global events by being more inclusive in policymaking, transparency and accountability.
Senator Ozouf said “Jersey has a long and proud association with the Commonwealth. It is appropriate that Jersey is represented for the first time at this important global summit. This community of nations joins together 2.2 billion people, representing a combined GDP of $9.6 trillion. Commonwealth countries are important markets for Jersey in terms of the increasingly diversified services that we offer. Equally importantly, the CHOGM programme provides opportunities for two-way learning and collaborative working. It is important that the Island has a voice in these wide-ranging and influential discussions with heads of government from across the world.
“Malta is the host for this CHOGM, and we have for some years now been building strong bilateral relations between our two islands and sharing knowledge in areas such as ICT and financial services. Our attendance also underlines Jersey’s support for a fellow island state.
“Finally, there are 18 African countries in the Commonwealth, which makes this week’s meeting particularly relevant to the promotion and furtherance of Jersey’s two-way trade, investment and technical assistance work with the continent.”
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