UN General Assembly
2021

In the long term, the Government is in the process of finalizing its Public Health Bill that will provide a legislative framework to effectively respond to any Health crisis that may face the country in future. On that note, I commend and thank our very hardworking healthcare workers and all our frontline agencies who had worked tirelessly to protect our nation against this deadly disease. Your sacrifice and dedication are greatly appreciated. Mr. President, The negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy had been significant. By mid-2021 our balance of trade deficit was around $96 million; $24 million higher than the previous month. This is a substantial amount for our small economy. This negative outcome stemmed from a larger fall in exports by 13 per cent against a marginal decline in imports by 1 per cent. Restrictions on international travel into the country has also impacted heavily on the tourism industry forcing tourism operators to drastically scale down their operations.