Wheatley champions blue economy, resilience
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley used his address at the World Government Summit in the United Arab Emirates to promote the Virgin Islands’ blue economy and push for stronger disaster resilience. He urged diversification of markets beyond the United States, highlighted plans for trade missions to India and ASEAN, and stressed the need for investment in sustainability to reduce future borrowing after devastating 2017 storms.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has taken the Virgin Islands’ economic priorities to the World Government Summit in the United Arab Emirates, promoting the territory’s blue economy while urging stronger disaster resilience and broader international partnerships. Speaking at the high-level gathering, Dr Wheatley set out the BVI’s intention to diversify trade and tourism links beyond its traditional reliance on the United States.
He said the territory is seeking more business from the Middle East, India and ASEAN markets and that a major trade mission to India and ASEAN is planned later this year. He also noted plans to extend the airport runway to facilitate long‑haul flights from the Middle East and Asia, a move that could open direct routes and new visitor markets.
The Premier highlighted the marine sector as central to the BVI’s economy. “We have a large charter boat sector similar to Grenada, and of course that has been able to sustain us very well,” he said, underscoring how yachts, charters and marine services remain pillars of employment and revenue for residents across the territory.
But Wheatley cautioned that growth must go hand in hand with planning for shocks. Recalling the impact of two Category 5 hurricanes in 2017, he said those storms disrupted the marine and tourism sectors, destroyed homes and government infrastructure, and left the territory with significant rebuilding needs.
He argued for investment not only to generate wealth but to build sustainable living standards — including health care, education and housing — and to implement disaster risk reduction measures. The Premier called for cooperation beyond traditional Western partners and said the BVI could learn from development strategies in the region, praising the UAE’s emphasis on sustainable investment and quality of life.
He stressed the importance of disaster risk mitigation tools to reduce reliance on borrowing when storms hit, pointing to insurance mechanisms, resilient infrastructure, and other financial and planning instruments as priorities. For BVI residents, the message is that government is actively seeking new markets and partners to safeguard the territory’s main industries while pursuing resilience measures to protect homes, jobs and public finances.
The planned trade missions and airport works will be closely watched at home for their potential to attract investment and diversify the visitor base while strengthening post‑disaster recovery capacity.
Primary source: BVI News