The island’s lieutenant governor gave a warm welcome to government and bank officials from small countries.

The men and women travelled from places as far away as Tuvalu and the Cook Islands.

They all work in finance and carry out vital work in their home countries.

Among them was a representative from an African country which is in the news after King Mswati of Swaziland changed the country’s name to eSwatini

This was the 10th year of the Small Countries Financial Management Programme.

A silver birch tree was planted in the grounds of Government House to mark the significance of the 10 years.

The reception with the governor is always a highlight of the programme.

Sir Richard Gozney gave his seal of approval and said: ‘It would be very hard to find any other event, even in London or Manchester, or wherever, that brought together people from the West Indies, the Indian Ocean, from small countries in southern Africa and from a great chunk of the Pacific Ocean as well.

‘Twenty small countries are represented here and of those I know just eight of them.

‘They are very special [countries], they have strong characters and they are memorable in the best possible sense.

‘Why are they memorable? I think there is something about small countries that breeds a different ethos from big countries.’

‘There is a courtesy that I have always found in any small country and people linked and related to that, have time to stop and pause.

‘And you don’t go and buy something in a shop in a great rush because people want to say hello. They want to ask about your aunt and your uncle and how your grandmother is doing, and all those things that make life just a little bit different.’

Thumbs-up

Finance officials from around the world have given the thumbs-up for the 10th Small Countries Financial Management Programme.

This year there were 24 delegates comprising nine from the Caribbean, seven were from Africa and the Indian Ocean and eight from the Pacific region.

They work in high powered positions in national banks and governments in their home countries

The first week’s action took place last week in the island, first at the International Centre for Technology at the Nunnery, then at Fort Anne.

This week, the participants have flown off to Oxford and the Said Business School, University of Oxford, to continue their studies.

One of the social highlights of the programme is a reception at Government House. This year a silver birch tree was planted in the grounds by Deemster Doyle, a huge suporter of the scheme.

Executive director Mark Shimmin told Business News the programme had been going well.

He said of the participants: ‘They are really enjoying themselves, they are also enthusiastic and committed and all in all they are a great bunch of people.

‘Previous participants in the programme have always enjoyed their visit to Government House and it’s the same for this year’s participants.’

He added the planting of the tree in a ‘lovely spot in a quiet little area’ was a splendid way of commemorating the first decade of the programme.

Funding for the programme and the centre is provided by way of a grant from the Isle of Man Government’s international development budget, with the centre receiving £300,000 this year.

Mr Shimmin said he was pleased there was the commitment from the current administration and added: ‘It gives us a goodopportunity to plan for the future.

This was underlined by chief minister Howard Quayle who was at the reception.

He told Business News the small countries scheme ‘clearly shows that the Isle of Man takes its international responsibilities very seriously and we are out there to help othersmall countries.

‘We are a small country, we understand the problems that our fellow small countries have and I’ve found this.

‘I was in the previous admininistration, I questioned the importance of the scheme and looked into it and I was so impressed with it that when I took over as chief minister I said: ‘‘Right, we will guarantee for the next five years that we will be funding this.’’

‘It is absolutely vital that we help other countries.’

‘It is good for the Isle of Man and if we can help other countries it is going to be one of those win, win situations.’

Asked if it was money well spent he replied: ‘Absolutely. We are an international responsible jurisdiction and this is what business, this is what the rest of the world likes to see; a small jurisdiction taking its role and helping out in the rest of the world .’

Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, was the furthest distance from the Isle of Man and its representative, Niuatui Niuatui, 30, travelled around 9,200 miles to get here.

Niuatui gave details of his long journey.

First he had a two and a half hour trip from Tuvalu to Fiji. He then embarked on a ten and a half hour flight to Los Angeles, which because of time differences, was the same time he had left Tuvalu.

After an overnight sleep he boarded a plane for a flight to London lasting another 10 and a half hours. But he said it was all worth it for the value of what he learned.