MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands reaffirms self-determination and campaign to promote success of the Islands

Governor Nigel Haywood addressed Members of the Legislative Assembly

The Falkland Islands right to self determination “is undiminished as is the support from the UK to uphold that right and no amount of posturing by others can affect that right”, said Governor Nigel Haywood in his ‘State of the Nation’ address to the Legislative Assembly at the opening of the budget session.

“The vision of the Falklands which sits behind this is of an independent community which upholds the rule of law and which seeks a peaceful coexistence with its neighbours”, added Governor Haywood.

The annual ceremony at the Legislative Assembly is an opportunity for the Falklands to review the last twelve months and reveal challenges for the future.

Among the challenges the Falklands face “include dealing with attempts by the Government of Argentina to impede certain sectors of our economy”.

But whatever “the truth of reports that companies have come under Argentine pressure, the Government is confident that such attempts will not succeed”, said the Governor adding that the approach has been not to react to each and every report and public pronouncement but “to continue to develop the economy in our way and to ensure that we are not diverted by outside pressure”.

The Governor said “we believe this approach continues to work. Despite a good deal of noise from elsewhere, we are succeeding in growing our economy and in going about our business”.

“Our focus must not be diverted by attempts to de-rail us – in order to succeed we must concentrate on our goals and on our agenda, not someone else’s”.

However the Governor said that the Falklands “will continue to respond as necessary, and in an appropriate manner, to correct misconceptions, counter distortions, and criticise actions which run counter to international law”.

But Governor Haywood also revealed that the Falklands’ Government believes that “we have not been active enough in promoting the success of the Islands” and it is essential to ensure that “key messages about the Islands’ status, constitutional and legal position, and the overriding determination of the community to remain a British Overseas Territory are understood internationally”.

Accordingly the Falklands government is allocating substantial additional resources to public relations efforts, which will include the creation of the new post of Public Relations Manager; more tours by Members of the Legislative Assembly to key international centres such as Brussels where members can influence opinions; and more visits to the Islands by overseas journalists, so that they can see the facts for themselves and report back to their domestic audiences.

The Falklands were described by the Governor as a success story, “a modern community with a successful economy, a commitment to the highest levels of environmental stewardship and a huge tourist potential”.

More specifically on the Islands’ prospects Governor Haywood said the economy has progressed well despite the continued global slowdown with growth estimate for 2010 at 5% (over 2009) and an estimated floor of 2.55% for the current year.

This is supported by a better than expected Illex squid season with 93 vessels having been granted licences. In agriculture wool incomes have had a good year boosted by international prices and increased quality of local wool.

Oil exploration has been very successful with the “Ocean Guardian” rig operating in Falklands’ waters since February 2010, which has helped many local companies while the government has benefited substantially from the effect on personal and corporate taxation.

The Government is also working closely with the private sector to ensure that tourism reaches its full potential thus helping to further develop the economy in an independent and sustainable way.

Finally another potential area is support functions for the UK defence effort in the Islands. The aim of localising those functions which are not core defence functions has now been agreed with the UK Ministry of Defence.