PAULA COX:

Maintaining dialogue and staying at the forefront of new global legislation are the keys to keeping international business happy, says Ms Cox.

A seemingly endless stream of laws aimed at ensuring Bermuda remains in line with international practice has passed through Parliament under Ms Cox's watch as Finance Minister.

"Those sorts of things may not be exciting, sexy or glamorous to people of Bermuda, but the big picture is if Bermuda didn't have them we wouldn't be seen as a jurisdiction that international business saw as regulatory."

Ms Cox says it's also important channels of communication are kept open and says she took part in a meeting with a significant group within the past two weeks.

She dismisses suggestions, often aired by the Opposition, that international business feels badly treated by Government, saying: "I don't think that's true at all."

And she says the Island must maintain its reputation as a neutral jurisdiction, which she says it has successfully nurtured despite affiliations to the United States and Europe.