A series of “fruitful” meetings were held in Washington, DC between the Premier, his deputy and members of the United States Congress.

David Burt and Walter Roban returned to Bermuda yesterday after the talks when they discussed “significant matters” on behalf of the island.

The meetings focused on finance, banking, insurance and reinsurance, economics, airline development and energy.

Mr Burt met Gregory Meeks and Karen Bass, members of the House foreign affairs committee, Emmanuel Cleaver, a member of the House financial services committee, and Gwen Moore, ranking member of the financial services sub-committee on monetary policy and trade.

Yesterday, the Premier met senior representatives of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to have key discussions about de-risking and its impact on Bermuda’s financial services industry. This was also a topic during his meeting with Mr Meeks on Friday.

In talks with Ms Bass, the Premier highlighted steps Bermuda has taken to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.

De-risking was also covered when he met Ms Moore in a discussion that included Bermuda’s high standards of tax transparency and compliance.

The Premier touted Bermuda’s role as a global centre for insurance and reinsurance in talks with Mr Cleaver.

He also spoke about the importance of Bermuda’s insurance market to aid recovery and rebuilding of infrastructure in the wake of global natural disasters.

Mr Roban met Abby Hopper, CEO of Solar Energy Industry Association, to talk about how governments have incorporated the use of solar energy and technology.

He also held a meeting with airlines that serve America to discuss industry development and working towards increasing air options to Bermuda.