Britain’s Foreign Office Minister for the Overseas Territories, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited the British Virgin Islands this week to discuss hurricane preparedness and see progress on recovery from last year’s devastation.
On his two-day visit, the minister visited a number of public sites affected by last year’s hurricanes with Premier Dr Orlando Smith. He saw how UK support is helping recovery efforts, and officially handed over the new purpose-built temporary Court House to the government, which will allow the Supreme Court and Magistrates’ Court to function fully again whilst a permanent building is constructed.
Ahmad also visited RFA Mounts Bay, which will remain in the region throughout the hurricane season to provide rapid assistance to islands if needed. He met with the board of the Recovery and Development Agency to hear about their progress and efforts to deliver the six-month accelerated plan ahead of endorsement of the longer term recovery and development plan by the BVI House of Assembly.
