Premier Fahie was at the time speaking on what he called 'Successful negotiations' during his recent trip to the UK at the Eleventh Sitting of the First Session of the Fourth House of Assembly which commenced on Thursday, October 17, 2019.

'I acted in time' - Premier Fahie

Hon Fraser had sought to know whether the Virgin Islands had reacted before or after the UK ultimatum to take up the loan, to which the Premier said he reacted on time.

"I acted in time and informed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of our intention to access the guarantee. However, negotiations are ongoing since they are a couple of negotiation points yet to be resolved by the parties. Through these negotiations we were able to achieve flexibility in the September 30th deadline," Premier said.

Following more questions, the Premier said, however, that while he achieved flexibility, he would not reveal too many details into the public domain which could hamper the ongoing negotiation process.

Hon Fraser responded, "You acknowledged the 30th as a deadline and sought an extension, but at the same time, you are saying it was a resounding success?"

"You don't know what the outcomes of these discussions would be, you could end up with nothing... how could it be a resounding success if you have nothing?" Hon Fraser said in questioning the role of the Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) in the UK loan conundrum.

'People want to see us fail' - Premier

According to Premier Fahie, "I know that they are those who hope we end up with nothing, but one thing we [are going] to do is try, and one thing we [are] doing is to make sure that we try in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands (VI). I pray to God that we do not end up with nothing," he said in response.

Hon Fahie continued, "but if it comes to that point, I can go to the people of the Virgin Islands and then say... these are all the areas that I was fighting on your behalf and this is what we were able to get done or not done," he said.

The Premier reiterated that while the UK has been open and receptive, discussions are delicate and he cannot reveal the full details, "both sides are listening to each other, and the deadline has been extended so that we can discuss further to find common ground in some areas," he said.

The Leader of Government Business further noted that the deadline extension was a victory on its own and that the UK is accommodating and have since been reasonable throughout the negotiation process.