I want to start by thanking the hosts, the Turks and Caicos, for the warm organization of these days of meetings. Furthermore, I want to thank CFATF and the assessors that have worked on the EXIT round of Curacao.
I am proud of the achievement of Curacao and the result of a Largely Compliant rating at CFATF for the Key and core recommendations. This result underscores our commitment to the guidelines set out by CFATF on the topics of AML and CFT, which is fruit of the guiding principles adhered to by the Ministry of Finance, which encompass the following:
a. contributing to the public good,
b. fostering a strong economic structure,
c. being rooted in an economically and financially sound region,
and lastly to adhere to base values such as integrity and lawfulness.
These principles can be summed up as: Being truthful to whom and to what we pledge our commitment; Which brings me to the sources of input for the push to stay compliant with the international rules and guidelines issued by CFATF and other international organizations such as the OECD.
The Curacaon society has clearly expressed its wants and needs in regard to combating money laundering and its commitment to counter financing of terrorism. Over and over both the private sector and society as a whole have informed the government that durable foreign investment has to be attracted to the island to provide a basis for durable economic growth. This can only be done if the investment attracted to the island is traceable to legitimate sources, providing for long term investments in our economy and thus contributing structurally to our Foreign Direct Investment stream.
It is with this objective that we commit ourselves, now and in the future, to the rules and standards issued by CFATF. Additionally, we firmly believe that CFATF as a regional and international organization provides in a level playing field for all jurisdictions and consequently we believe that this serves the economical and financial integrity of our region as a whole. I applaud the participations of all jurisdictions in our region and hope we can further level the playing field in the coming years.
Curacao is committed to actively support CFATF, which we have done through our commitment to the budget during our last meeting in Miami and which we will also continuously do through our professional support to CFATF.
To conclude, I want emphasize that the combination of the elements mentioned above and their effective implementation, represent the change that has resulted in a Largely Compliant rating for Curacao and I am looking forward to cementing this path on our way to becoming fully Compliant.
Thank you
