Page 26 - AHATA

A year end event typifies itself by briefly looking back and of course also trying to predict

and forecast what the near future will bring us retrospect can be done in many ways that
will set the tone going forward,
We can look at things that have gone bad in the past year and ponder on what that will
mean and cause for the next year …. But it can also be done differently ….

So, today I’m not going to talk about the many things that can be improved in our business
environment nor the lack of hard policy changes that we all as the business community
would like see implemented by our policy makers ….

Today I will focus on,….only positive achievements ….

We start off by thanking our government that has been and still is doing their utmost to
initiate and support many good initiatives on a micro as well as macro-economic level, while
at the same time trying very hard to make ends meet in these extremely difficult
times. Thank you !

We as the VBC have since successfully reached out to our policymakers and have started
fruitful dialogue on the various topics that we feel are THE important cornerstones for a
sound and sustainable economy for our island. A process that we are glad to have started
and that we will continue to set forth in the new year.

But I have to say that it’s not always that we have to sit and wait on the government to do
their stuff. We are entrepreneurs and businessmen. We need to stay fresh and dynamic and
continuously challenge the status quo…. That’s why we are businessmen …our drive to
achieve the visions we have surpasses all barriers of bureaucracy and red tape…. Our drive
to achieve growth surpasses all geographical borders….
And our drive to grow prosperity for our families and communities comes from within…. No
government will give you that drive nor can any government withhold you from giving it
your utmost to reach success….!

The ‘new world’ business success is based on a society's philosophy where we are:
- open for business,
- open for immigration,
- superbly connected to the entire world,
- where we respect human rights,
- we respect data and freedom of speech, belief, equality regardless of race, color, sexual
orientation, etc., and where we limit rules to only those that are crucial, and where
we continuously support development and education,

in short:

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