BVI Premier Takes Part in Pre-G8 Meetings with UK Prime Minister

Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands, Orlando Smith, has accepted the invitation to attend two meetings in London on June 15.

These meetings are hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron before the G8 meeting. During the first meeting, the BVI Premier is having an open consultation with the UK Prime Minister, together with leaders from all UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, while the second meeting is the discussion on the key issues of the G8 summit, including tax, trade and transparency, and involves a range of stakeholders, including representatives from Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

The BVI Premier said in a letter sent to David Cameron that the jurisdiction will in principle commit to joining the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance on Tax Matters - a multilateral agreement having the aim to promote international cooperation to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.

Speaking about the meeting, the BVI Premier Dr Orlando Smith welcomed the invitation from David Cameron for consultation, and expressed Government’s support for the G8 agenda on tax, trade and transparency and trust that the G8 members will see the value of, and accept the need for, establishing global standards."