Jersey is a British Crown Dependency, and one of the world's leading international finance centres.
Although we are represented by the UK overseas, we are a self-governing island, with our own parliament, financial systems, and courts of law.
The island's forward-thinking approach, a robust regulatory framework, political autonomy and economic stability have kept our jurisdiction at the forefront of global finance for more than 50 years.
Jersey is therefore committed to upholding the highest regulatory standards, so that we can continue to provide the right environment to attract capital.
Among other things, this means taking proactive action to prevent, and fight international financial crime and to recover stolen assets.
This week we have taken a further step forward in the fight against corruption by adding our name to the list of signatories of the Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime to Kenya (FRACCK) alongside our UK, Swiss and Kenyan partners.
This international framework is the first of its kind and paves the way for the repatriation of proceeds of corruption to support development projects in Kenya.
The framework represents a significant achievement in relation to the confiscation and return of stolen assets and I hope it will act as an example of the kind of innovative legal approach the international community can explore to secure meaningful progress in asset recovery.
Jersey's signature of the FRACCK is just one example of our commitment to working across borders to tackle financial crime.
In 2016, the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and Financing of Terrorism placed Jersey in the top tier of jurisdictions globally, and concluded Jersey is a "well-established international financial centre with a mature and sophisticated Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism regime".
We're committed to sharing our experience in this area, and to working with other jurisdictions to tackle this transnational issue.
Our network of Double Taxation Agreements, for example, supports our ongoing work on tackling financial crime by engaging openly with other jurisdictions about tax matters.
We have also sought to engage with the African Tax Administration Forum and other international bodies on ways in which Jersey can assist other countries to enhance their revenue-raising capacity and tackle issues of financial crime.
In 2017 and 2018, I participated in the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative sessions organised by the World Economic Forum. And in June 2018, we amended the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law to strengthen Jersey's ability to secure higher volumes of prosecutions and confiscations in cases of financial crime.
We are also a core donor to the International Centre for Asset Recovery, with whom we work in Kenya to help prevent and fight international financial crime and recover stolen assets.
In May last year, this issue was top of the agenda when I met with His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta in London.
We agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) across of range of areas of mutual interest including asset sharing, collaborating in tackling financial crime and increasing cross-border trade and investment, including through a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA).
I was delighted to sign this MOU with Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich on 11 December 2018.
The MOU is a testament to Jersey and Kenya's ambitions to work together to enhance our partnership for the future.
I firmly believe that Jersey has a role to play in providing high quality, well-regulated capital in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that will be needed to realise HE The President's Big Four agenda: food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare.
Jersey's well-earned reputation has helped attract capital from across the world, which in turn is invested into the UK, Europe and further afield - including here in Africa.
Jersey is custodian to US$1.7 trillion and currently provides up to 1.5% of all global FDI into Africa.
We want more of this to go from Jersey into Kenya and a DTA would greatly help facilitate these investment flows.
By taking these measures, we're protecting and strengthening our financial services sector, so we can better capitalise on opportunities in the future.
And while we may live thousands of miles apart, we have a common interest in working together to tackle financial crime, to help strengthen both our economies, presenting greater opportunities for the people of Jersey, and the people of Kenya.
I hope this commitment will serve to strengthen our existing relationship with Kenya and build firm foundations for joint working in the future.
Senator Ian Gorst
is the
Minister for External Relations, Government of Jersey.