The Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) delivered the annual presentation of their Statement of Corporate Intent (SCI) to Cabinet earlier yesterday.

This presentation also featured SCIs from Statutory and Corporate Crown Entities operating as part of the CIIC Group, including the Airport Authority, Avaroa Cable Limited, Bank of the Cook Islands, CIIC Seabed Resources, Ports Authority, Te Aponga Uira, Te Mana Uira O Araura and To Tatou Vai.

In addition to Prime Minister Mark Brown and his Cabinet, also in attendance were various other government ministers, ministry heads, CIIC board members, management, group CEOs, chairs and their deputies, as well as support staff.

Speaking from the Cook Islands National Auditorium where the presentation took place, Prime Minister Brown commended the CIIC governance teams, management and staff for their continuing hard work, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is heartening not only for me personally but also I think for the entire country to be able to look back on everything that CIIC and its Group members have achieved over the past year, especially in the face of Covid-19 and the significant support it has offered the nation,” said Brown, who is also the Minister responsible for CIIC.

“I have no doubt they will accomplish much more over the next four years, as laid out in the SCI.”

The SCI presentations were delivered in the form of pre-prepared video packages, so as to allow more time for several Q&A panels throughout the morning.

In an overview video covering CIIC’s wider operations, CIIC chair Michael Henry described the SCI as “a living document, and critical in our day-to-day work”.

“Our Statement of Corporate Intent is a document for the Cook Islands people, our stakeholders, to understand what we have been doing in the last year, and what we are planning to do over the next four years – what our priorities are, including our key performance areas.”

In the same video, chief executive Allan Jensen outlined some of those key performance areas in more detail.

“Upcoming milestones in our SCI include the Vaikapuangi centralised government building project, continued support amidst Covid-19, a capital restructuring review, the Arutanga Harbour Project, and the Asset Management Project,” said Jensen.

The videos from yesterday’s SCI presentations to Cabinet are available for viewing on the CIIC website (https://www.ciic.gov.ck/publications/videos).

Albert Nicholas, the Associate Minister for CIIC, said: “e akamaroiroianga teia ki te iti tangata o te Kuki Airani kia akarakara atu i teia au teata poto tei taviri ia e tei akatuera iatu ki runga i te mareva ei kite marama no te Iti tangata no runga i te Oroma (Vision), te au taka'ianga angaanga (Strategy), e pe ra te au angaanga tukeke ta te CIIC e te au pitiniti i raro ake i tana tamarumaruanga (entities) e rave ana.”

CIIC intends to hold a series of public meetings early in the new year to share their vision and strategic objectives with the wider Cook Islands community.

The CIIC Board of Directors is appointed by Cabinet and is comprised of Chair Michael Henry, Deputy Chair Malcolm Sword and fellow directors Caren Rangi, Fletcher Melvin and Eleanor Roi.