The Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), Oliver Everett, was welcomed to Jersey by the Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, on 14 September 2016.
Jersey joined the CWEIC, the body responsible for promoting trade and investment between the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, earlier this year and Senator Ozouf, who represents the Island on the CWEIC's advisory council, arranged the visit in order to give Mr Everett the opportunity to learn more about Jersey. During his visit, Mr Everett met with Government Ministers and representatives from the Island's business and finance communities, including officials from Jersey Finance and Digital Jersey.
The CWEIC's responsibilities include organising the first Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Meeting, which will be held in London next year, and the Commonwealth Business Forum, which runs alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, due to be held in the UK in 2018.
Senator Ozouf commented: "I am delighted that the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council have visited Jersey and are now better placed to understand our needs and our ambitions to play our part in the Commonwealth.
"As Baroness Scotland has made clear, the Commonwealth will increasingly be seeking to increase its role in trade. This is especially important as Jersey seeks to engage with Commonwealth partners in the post-Brexit landscape.
"Fresh from our signing of a Double Taxation Agreement with Rwanda and our participation in the Mining Indaba conference in South Africa, we are looking to deepen our cooperation with countries across the Commonwealth.
"In these uncertain times, as the global landscape changes, the Commonwealth is more important than ever to Jersey's future. We hope that we can play a full part in trading and cooperating with our friends in all Commonwealth nations."
Mr Everett commented: "I learned a lot about Jersey's priorities and impressive capabilities during my visit. The Commonwealth can take a great deal from Jersey's experience of building a strong island economy.
"Equally, Jersey businesses can certainly benefit from new opportunities and the CWEIC's Commonwealth network. I was very impressed with the work being done by all the agencies and government officials I met.
"Our first action will be to introduce Jersey as a trusted partner to our key African partners, in line with the Government's Commonwealth policy."
Commonwealth countries include significant economic powers such as India, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada as well as emerging economies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
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