Minister for Commerce Albert Isola attended a UKOTA Trade Summit in Grand Cayman on 26th and 27th June 2019. The event, hosted by the Cayman Ministry of International Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs, was the first of its kind and brought together Leaders and Senior representatives of the Overseas Territories.

Minister Isola contributed to a panel session “Harnessing the potential of the Commonwealth” and additionally delivered a keynote speech on Gibraltar’s burgeoning fintech industry. In his talk, Minister Isola explored the understanding within the overseas territories of the fintech industry globally and the benefits a jurisdiction can derive by successfully attracting fintech businesses within a regulated environment. He concluded by setting out a clear vision of the future.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK Minister with responsibility for the Overseas Territories attended and delivered the opening keynote speech. A pre recorded video message from Liam Fox UK Secretary of State for International Trade was played to the audience.

Minister Isola commented, “It was a great pleasure attending the UKOTA International Trade Summit in Cayman this week. Bringing together a family of nations to discuss matters of common interest is undoubtedly deeply rewarding and of great relevance to all our future aspirations. This high level gathering, fully supported by the UK Government, covered a wide range of topics and provided an excellent opportunity for Gibraltar to present its case as global leader in the new technologies space.”

The summit concluded with the release of a Trade Summit Declaration agreed by representatives of the Government of the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom Overseas Territories.

The Summit was preceded by a pre-Joint Ministerial Council meeting hosted by Cayman Premier McLaughlin that covered a series of topics including Brexit, environmental issues, fintech, trade and other matters of common interest.

Attending the summit with Minister Isola were Dominique Searle and Tyrone Duarte of our London office, and Gibraltar Finance senior executive Paul Astengo.