Top row, from left: Jackie Marati, Senior Vice President & Chief Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at the Bank of Guam; Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. President of Republic of Palau; and Samuel Shinohara, United Airlines Managing Director of Operations for Asia/Pacific. Bottom row, from left: Benito Wheatley, Special Envoy of the Premier of BVI; Henk Rogers, Founder & Board Chair of the Blue Planet Foundation in Hawaii; and Alfredo Coro, Vice Mayor of the Municipality of Del Carmen (Siargao Islands) in the Philippines.
ROAD TOWN, BVI--The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has shared its viewpoint with political leaders, industry executives, civil society representatives and other stakeholders in the Pacific on how to safely reopen the economy amid the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Special Envoy of the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Benito Wheatley joined other high-level panellists, including President of the Republic of Palau, Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. and United Airlines Managing Director of Operations for Asia/Pacific, Samuel Shinohara, for a virtual panel discussion on the theme “Islands Rising for Economic Recovery” during the Conference on Island Sustainability organised by the University of Guam.
In his statement, the special envoy recommended that the relevant authorities of islands in the Pacific ensure that the necessary health and entry protocols are in place to identify and isolate COVID-19 infections and prevent the spread of the virus among local communities. Among other things, he stressed the importance of vaccinations to reduce risks to the public as economies are opened up to welcome visitors. He also emphasised the importance of keeping the public health situation under control to avoid lockdowns. According to Wheatley, “Lockdowns damage the engines of economic growth and are very costly.”
Commenting on his engagement with political, industry and civil society leaders in the Pacific, the special envoy said, “Small island developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific should continue to share with each other their respective experiences in managing the COVID-19 global pandemic and the steps they are taking toward economic recovery. The British Virgin Islands has been highly successful in containing COVID-19, while safely running the economy which is opening up further as risks have decreased with the vaccination of the population.”
The other panellists included Vice Mayor of the Municipality of Del Carmen (Siargao Islands) in the Philippines, Alfredo Coro; Founder & Board Chair of the Blue Planet Foundation in Hawaii, Henk Rogers; and Senior Vice President & Chief Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at the Bank of Guam, Jackie Marati.
The high-level panel took place at the University of Guam’s Island Sustainability Conference on April 9.
The BVI has been recognised by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for its successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic and for safely reopening its borders and economy through the adoption of robust health and entry protocols.
