Gibraltar was represented at a virtual conference of leaders of the UK Overseas Territories today by the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and the Minister for Education and the Environment Professor John Cortes. They were joined by the Director of Gibraltar House in London Dominique Searle.

The objective of the meeting was to prepare the ground for the annual Joint Ministerial Council OT between the leaders of the UK Overseas Territories and Ministers of the UK Government which has been earmarked for November.

The UK Overseas Territories are scattered across the globe. They are Anguilla, Ascension Island, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pictairn, St Helena, Tristan Da Cunha, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Gibraltar. The matters under discussion reflected the broad range of interests and challenges faced by the different territories given the geographical location of each of them.

The question of disaster management and support in dealing with hurricanes, for example, is of particular importance in the Caribbean area. However, there were also area of common interest like the consequences of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, contingency planning and environmental protection and climate change. In his capacity as the Minister for the Environment, Professor Cortes outlined the position of the Government of Gibraltar on green issues and explained his experiences in representing the OTs at COP25 in Madrid. He supported that COP26 and other environmental questions should continue on the agenda.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the respective territories, the problems generated by the pandemic and the solutions that had been identified was a particularly topical and relevant agenda item where each territory shared their experience.

The Deputy Chief Minister was asked to introduce the discussion on the right to self-determination and the removal from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories of those countries who wished it. He explained that self-determination, decolonisation and delisting was a sacred right for the people of the territories.

There was also a discussion on the constitutional relationship between the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories.

The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said:

“Gibraltar is always delighted to play a role within the wider British family of nations and this is reflected in our positive and constructive engagement with the other UK Overseas Territories. There are a number of important values, traditions and interests that we all have in common. The preparations for the Joint Ministerial Council OT provide an ideal opportunity for the different territories to compare notes, to set out our priorities and to work out the details of the meeting with the UK Government later in the year.”