Among other things, Mr Emery C. Pemberton, Economist in the Ministry of Finance/Ministry focal point for sustainable development & SDGs, and Special Envoy of the Premier Mr E. Benito Wheatley, participated in discussions at the 11th Meeting of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from November 23-25, 2021, that considered support measures to Governments to improve the region’s capacity to monitor and evaluate the SDGs, including in relation to gender and the environment.

According to a press release from the Government of the Virgin Islands, Mr Pemberton earlier joined the Director of the Central Statistics Unit Mr Raymond Phillips and Statistician Mr Benson Tyson for a Validation Workshop from November 2-3, 2021, ran by the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in which participants discussed proposed targets and indicators for sustainable development to complement the SDGs within the framework of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway.

The Government of the [British] Virgin Islands continues to build local capacity for sustainable development as it prepares a National Sustainable Development Plan with the support of ECLAC which will guide the Territory’s future growth and development and achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

National Dialogue Session

Mr Wheatley and Mr Pemberton also represented the VI on September 3, 2021, at an ECLAC/BVI National Dialogue Session which assessed the status of Integrated Decision-Making for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs by the Government.

They provided an update on the VI’s development of a National Sustainable Development Plan and shared the progress already made on long-term sustainable development planning with support from ECLAC’s Development Account 11th Tranche project on Institutional Strengthening.

This included a detailed presentation by Mr Pemberton on the Ministry of Finance’s success in mapping the SDGs to the Government’s budget. Mr Pemberton subsequently presented further on the VI’s progress as a panelist at the “Planning for Sustainable Development in Caribbean SIDS” conference which took place on September 28. 2021, organised by ECLAC and the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The Government of the [British] Virgin Islands continues to build local capacity for sustainable development as it prepares a National Sustainable Development Plan with the support of ECLAC which will guide the Territory’s future growth and development and achievement of the SDGs by 2030.