Bermuda should consider an international aid fund, a top member of the Jersey parliament said yesterday.

Imogen Nichols said rich jurisdictions like Jersey and Bermuda had a moral obligation to help others.

And Ms Nichols agreed that small islands -- often seen as rich tax havens -- could reap international public relations benefits from overseas aid, as well as give them a voice on the world stage.

Ms Nichols said: "Jersey, as one of the richest countries in the world, really has a moral duty to care and help the global community.

"We have to address poverty globally because if we don't, in time poverty rates and disasters will actually affect long-term global security.

"Our economic success in Jersey is built on global wealth -- it's given us an unprecendented opportunity to play a major role in overseas aid.

"And we have to be seen to be doing our bit.'' Ms Nichols -- a Deputy and President of Tourism in the States of Jersey in the Channel Islands -- the equivalent of an MP and Minister in Bermuda -- is on the Island at the invitation of Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson, who met her at a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting in Trinidad and Tobago last year.

She said: "I'm here to share ideas with politicians in parallel jobs to mine.'' And Mr. Hodgson appeared to back an international aid fund in Bermuda to assist poor and disaster-stricken countries.

Mr. Hodgson said that Bermuda could learn as much -- if not more -- from small countries with similar economies to Bermuda as it could from neighbours the US and Canada.

He added: "Places like the US, while being very close, because of their size, problems may be different and solutions may be altered.

"With a place like Jersey, because we are so similar, we probably could trade a lot more ideas.'' And he said smaller jurisdictions could be allies in dealing with threats to offshore jurisdictions from multinational bodies.

Mr. Hodgson added the Bermuda Government already contributed to international aid by routinely matching private fundraising.

But he said: "One of the things that the United Nations has indicated is that richer countries should set aside a proportion of their Budget for aid.

"That is obviously important for Bermuda because one thing we pledged in our platform is to bring ourselves in line with international norms.

"What the UN wants us to do is not to give aid in response to private initiatives, but as leaders of the projects.'' Ms Nichols said Jersey spent a total of 4 million ($6.6 million) in aid every year.

But she added that was just 0.02 percent of Jersey's Gross National Product -- a figure she thought should be much higher, although it compares well on a percentage basis to much larger countries like the UK.

Ms Nichols said Jersey, like Bermuda, is a small island of 45 square miles.

It is a UK Crown Dependency, largely self-governing except for defence and foreign affairs and lies 15 miles off the Normandy coast of France.

International business amounts to 70 percent of its income whereas the tourism industry is suffering a decline in numbers and beds available.

And she added that Jersey had also come under the spotlight in probes into the offshore finance sector by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and the UN.

But she said Jersey -- also like Bermuda -- was a low-tax, not a no-tax country, with everyone paying 20 pence in the pound income tax, a measure imposed during the Nazi occupation of Second World War and never repealed.

Ms Nichols said: "We are also subject to many of the same pressures as Bermuda is -- Jersey is in the premier league of offshore finance countries and we like to think we are one of the best-regulated in the world.

"We are simply a low tax area, but we haven't artificially lowered our taxes in any way to attract business.'' And she said she had already learned a lot about revitalising tourism -- and praised on-Island bids to boost the industry by stressing its importance to the economy.

Ms Nichols said her country spent around 7.7 million on tourism advertising and running the department -- around $12.7 million -- but nothing to promote the industry among the people of Jersey.

She added: "I can learn a lot from Bermuda in the way you treat your guests.

I find I'm treated with great courtesy and friendliness which is sometimes lacking in Jersey.'' And she said: "If we lost tourism, we could not create another industry and tourism supports our air and sea links. There's a synergy which is often forgotten by government in Jersey.

"There is a much greater awareness of the value of the tourist to the economy in Bermuda.'' Ms Nichols said Jersey also faced pressure for housing -- both luxury and social need housing -- which created a squeeze on open spaces.

She added: "We are finding the pressure on for housing in Jersey and it's very important that land is preserved.'' And she said that Bermuda -- which had pushed ahead with a long-term Island Plan -- was ahead of Jersey in that respect.

Facts about Jersey Where: Jersey is a 45-square mile island, located in the Channel Islands 15 miles off the Normandy coast of France.

Constitution: A Crown Dependency, Jersey is self-governing except for defence and foreign affairs.

Economy: Jersey is heavily dependent on international business. Its tourism industry, like Bermuda's, is suffering from a lack of visitors and beds.

Imogen Nichols