Government of Bermuda
The Premier was invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Premier spoke at a number of on premise and off premise events and following that travelled to Brussels to open the Government of Bermuda Brussels office.
The Premier travelled to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloane School of Business for a discussion with the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT. Bermuda discussed its plans to launch a digital currency pilot and to enlist the support from MIT to assist in the design. He was joined by Sir. Andrew Large, Vice-Chair of the Bermuda Financial Policy Council, Philip Butterfield, Chairman of Bermuda First and Denis Pitcher, Fintech Advisor to the Government of Bermuda.
Premier was in Brussels to engage with Member States for political engagement on Bermuda’s assessment to the Code of Conduct Group. The Premier attend the Joint Ministerial Council Chaired by Minister of State to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon as well as attended the Bermuda Business Development Forum in London. Also while in the UK the Premier attended the Bermuda London Office reception for Bermudians in the UK, held in both London and Nottingham.
Airfare, accommodation and incidentals were paid for by HSBC.
The Premier travelled with the Minister of Finance for meetings relating to the successful refinancing of Bermuda Government’s debt which reduced Bermuda’s interest expense. Further information can be obtained via the following link: http://parliament.bm/admin/uploads/ministerials/296b3022244cdbc02cdc3d4bbbb8b48b.pdf
The Premier spent 24 hours in New York participating in a series of business meetings on foreign investment and banking, with a view to attracting further interest in Bermuda as being a first-class jurisdication to do business. The Premier was also interviewed by NASDAQ'S Spotlight, answering questions related to why Bermuda was moving into the FinTech space; the legislation and regulations being put in place to encourage banks to provide their services to FinTech companies; and, how Bermuda was promoting economic growth and success.
The Premier travelled to Europe for a series of European Union Engagements. The Premier, alongside the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, the State Secretary of Slovenia, and the OECD Secretary-General, attended and participated in the OECD Blockchain Policy Forum, which focused on improving blockchain policies and digital financing.
The Premier traveled to Miami to open the first Inaugural Bermuda Executive Forum hosted in Miami by the Bermuda Business Development Agency.
Premier delivered opening remarks at the event, met with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Premier also had meetings with Mr. Eric Knowles, President & CEO and members of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Mark Wilson, CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce as well as the Miami Stock Exchange.
Premier Burt spent 24 hours in participating in the annual Concordia Summit. Premier shared with attendees how Bermuda is leading the world in Fintech Regulation.
The trip was a success with more companies looking to setup physical operations in Bermuda.
Premier, the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP concluded a busy trip to Washington, DC where he conducted "fruitful" meetings with key Congressional representatives to discuss significant matters on behalf of Bermuda.
Attended the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government. It was the first Heads of Government meeting since Premier David Burt assumed office. The Premier presented on Bermuda's FinTech ambitions and further discussed how Distributed Ledger technology can more generally assist with challenges in servicing citizens and increase government efficiency in areas of healthcare, social insurance and licensing, as well as the strides Bermuda is making in these areas.