The Hon Albert Isola, Minister for Commerce, returned to Gibraltar on Thursday from Davos, Switzerland; where he had addressed a seminar on blockchain technology and related issues the previous day.

Minister Isola’s attendance was at the invitation of the Global Business Blockchain Council and the seminar was held in parallel with the World Economic Forum taking place in the city. The Minister was also a guest at a VIP dinner organised by the Council.

The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) were represented in Davos by Chief Executive Officer Nick Cowan and Executive Director Ben Soh. GBX are a founder member of the Council and Mr Cowan was invited to participate in a panel discussion.

The panel discussion and question and answer session that followed Minister Isola’s introductory address focussed heavily on the way in which DLT can be used by the private and public sector for the benefit of the average citizen, improving trust as well as enabling very significant cost savings; particularly, but not exclusively, in developing countries.

Whilst in Davos, Minister Isola had meetings with senior European officials involved in financial technology innovation, Members of the European Parliament and with a number of private sector attendees from the United States, Asia and Europe.

Minister Isola said, “I was absolutely delighted to be asked to speak at the Blockchain Council seminar in Davos and continue to assist in raising Gibraltar’s profile as a safe and trusted jurisdiction for the purposes of Blockchain. Our new regulatory regime for this technology has been recognised as, literally, world class as has our emphasis on quality and reputation."

The Minister was accompanied to Davos by the Finance Centre Director, James Tipping.

Individuals on the panel discussion together with the Minister included, the Greek MEP Eva Kaili; a sponsor of financial technology within the European Parliament.