Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council In London Day 2
The United Kingdom-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) took place last week at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London.
A statement from the Government follows below:
The Gibraltar delegation on the second day was formed of Minister for Justice, Equality, Health and Care, Samantha Sacramento and Minister for Education and the Environment Professor John Cortes, who were joined by Gibraltar’s United Kingdom Representative Dominique Searle and Guy Dumas from Gibraltar House.
Minister Sacramento represented Gibraltar in the sessions on Security, Law Enforcement, Health and Inclusivity. The morning discussion on Security and Law Enforcement was chaired by UK Minister for the Overseas Territories Amanda Milling, with contributions made by Security Minister Damian Hinds.
During the session on Health, chaired by UK Minister of State for Health and Social Care Edward Argar, Minister Sacramento delivered a presentation on the Gibraltar Mental Health Strategy, focusing on the mental health work undertaken in Gibraltar over the last twelve months. The presentation was extremely well received by those in attendance, highlighting the importance of sharing best practice between the United Kingdom and all of the Overseas Territories.
The penultimate session of the JMC focused on inclusivity and was chaired by Minister for Europe Wendy Morton and Minister William Quince, with Minister Sacramento highlighting the work being done in Gibraltar in this regard, particularly on safeguarding children.
Minister John Cortes, who headed the delegation in the absence of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister who were attending EU related discussions, and who on Monday attended the Environment, Climate Change and U.K./O.T. relationship sessions, was at Tuesday’s session on economic resilience and at the closing session where the joint communique was signed off. The Communique summarised the conclusions of both days’ discussions.
The JMC concluded with a reception where Minister Milling thanked the representatives from the Overseas Territories for the progress made over the course of the week.
The Duke of Cambridge then hosted a reception for attendees at the Joint Ministerial Council and selected students from the Overseas Territories, including Gibraltarian Christina Linares. Also present were Minister Milling and Minister Morton, as well as the Speaker of Parliament Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
In his address to attendees, the Duke of Cambridge stressed the commitment of the UK to the OTs and gave emphasis to the need to address Climate Change. He praised the initiatives taken across all the territories to combat climate change.
