Distinguished delegates,

Gibraltar is a very small country, but our experience has taught us that size need not limit ambition.

Monaco, a near neighbour, is even smaller, has no government debt and one of the highest GDP per capita.

We have no natural resources and limited resident labour.

Our most important resource is therefore our people's flexibility.

Our economic future depends increasingly on using technology to become more productive.

Indeed, already at annual budget sessions, I report to Parliament on the output per worker in the economy, and the fact that we are already increasing this at a faster rate than, for example, the United Kingdom.

For Gibraltar, the digital economy is not a separate part of the economy. It has to become a part of almost everything we do.

For us, the need to reinvent ourselves is not new. We have done so many times in our history.

When we recall the emergence of connectivity, with the submarine cable, the first one from Cornwall landed in the colony of Gibraltar.

We have developed internationally facing sectors including financial services, online gaming and digital businesses. These depend fundamentally on something that cannot be taken for granted: trust.

Trust in the security of data. Trust in digital identity. Trust in regulation. Trust that systems will continue to function, when they are attacked or disrupted.

That is why cybersecurity and resilient digital infrastructure are economic issues, not simply technical ones.

But, whatever the issues, we are now entering a "brave new world". The change is happening at a speed we have never faced before.

The impact of Al is unstoppable.

In Europe and the US there are people who question whether this should be slowed down or argue to what degree we should allow Al to change our economy.

I would go one-step further.

The choice in my view is not "do we allow Al to shape our economy?".

The reality will be that you will have an Al economy or, you will have no economy at all.

We can no more walk away from this change than the Victorians in the UK could have walked away from the development of the Industrial Revolution.

But, this is many, many, times bigger, the biggest change in the history of mankind.

So, we shall have to share our experience, our solutions, our advances.

The more we learn from each other the more successful we are and the better we can adapt for the benefit of all our people in all parts of the Commonwealth.

Our countries are enormously different in size and economic development, but digital technology allows knowledge and capability to be shared on a scale that was previously impossible.

Gibraltar intends to be an active participant in that process: embracing innovation, protecting trust and using artificial intelligence to create a more productive, resilient and sustainable economy.

The CTO has to be a part of the new Industrial Revolution - the biggest ever, and probably the last one. There is no better way of celebrating 125 years of history.