May 04 - Gibraltar 2025 – Economic Advisory Council Created
The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, has today announced the creation of an Economic Advisory Council to be named, ‘Gibraltar 2025’.
The Council will be designed to assist the Government in its development of a ten year strategic economic plan in partnership with the private sector and unions which will focus through its specialized sector sub committees on the different contributing component parts of the Rock’s economy and how these can be better developed over this period.
The work of the Council will extend to each area of the private sector. The Council will also look at the work of the public sector to ensure it is delivering a cost effective and efficient service to the community.
The Council and Sub-Committees will be drawn from across the different sectors of the community to ensure specialist advice is available to each of the working groups which will report with their recommendations to the Chief Minister’s 2025 Council and advise from time to time.
The Sub-Committees to be set up will cover areas of major economic importance and will include:
Tackling efficiency and waste in the Public Sector, chaired by the Financial Secretary;
Gibraltar as a tourism destination and our retail proposition, chaired by the Minister for Business;
Financial Services & Gaming – Opportunities for growth, chaired by the Minister for Financial Services & Gaming; and
The development of our Port and its facilities, chaired by the Minister for the Port.
The strong partnership of the Government, the private sector and the unions will enable strategic long term plans for our community to evolve and be fully considered with the benefit of specialist knowledge and advice.
The 2025 Council will then consider and evaluate these proposals for consideration and if accepted, implementation by Government.
The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "This will be the first time that the Government will engage in a real and genuine partnership with the private sector and the unions in scrutinizing our economy and considering how best we can develop and improve our proposition over a longer term than we have ever done before. We have to take a strategic long-term view on our economic prospects and development and consider how we can become better at what we do. We cannot think just in four years cycles and I want to move to a real strategic view of where the Community is going that is not beholden to elections and short term partisan tactics. I am convinced we will find the private sector and unions to be willing partners in this process and look forward to working together for the benefit of Gibraltar and our future generations."
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