(Office of the Premier) LONDON – Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin is in London this week, along with the Minister of Financial Services and Home Affairs Hon. Tara Rivers and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Hon. Roy McTaggart for series of meetings, including a special meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council to discuss Brexit.
On Monday the Premier hosted a lunch for Friends of Cayman at the Travellers Club off Pall Mall, which included key stakeholders in the UK. Former Governor of the Cayman Islands and chair of the Friends of Cayman, Mr. John Owen, was in attendance as well as head of the Cayman office in London Mr. Eric Bush.
“It is always good to be with friends, especially the Friends of Cayman here in the UK who have a keen interest in the Cayman Islands and willing ambassadors to promote our various industries.” said Mr. McLaughlin. As but one example, Mr. Owen recalled Friends of Cayman hosting an auction at the House of Commons which raised over £50,000 for the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme during its inception in 2003.
Through the Friends of Cayman, Stanley Johnson, renowned conservationist, writer and father of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, is coming to the Cayman Islands in August to write about the success of the Blue Iguana Programme.
During the lunch the Premier spoke to the election results and the new coalition government. He also discussed Cayman’s good economic position and the need during this administration to focus on social and other issues facing Cayman.
“We have a government of unity that will aim to address the interests of the Cayman Islands and our people for the next four years,” he said.
In the afternoon, Minister Rivers and Minister McTaggart, along with Chief Officer Dr. Dax Basdeo met with a delegation from the Isle of Man led by Chief Minister Howard Quayle. Matters of mutual interest, including financial services, were discussed.
Monday evening Mr. McLaughlin hosted a dinner at the House of Commons for more than 30 Members of Parliament and Peers from across all parties, including members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Cayman Islands with the chair, Graham Brady MP, who is also chairman of the influential Conservative Party 1922 Committee.
Also in attendance was Her Excellency the Governor Helen Kilpatrick.
During the dinner the Premier spoke about Cayman and reminded those present that our ties to the United Kingdom go back centuries with our earliest settlers being British. He recounted our country’s decision in the 1960s to remain British and discussed our constitutional history.
He also reminded those in attendance that the Cayman Islands operates its financial services industry in the highest ethical standards; always transparent in the way we perform an all-important role for business not only in London, but around the globe.
Meetings continued today with a pre-Joint Ministerial Council gathering with leaders or representatives from the Overseas Territories, including Bermuda, Gibraltar, BVI, Montserrat, Anguilla, Falkland Islands, St. Helena, TCI, Tristan da Cunha and Pitcairn.
Also travelling with the Premier are Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose, Senior Political Advisor to the Premier Roy Tatum and Jason Webster, Policy Analyst in the Cabinet Office.
They return to the Cayman Islands on Sunday, 16 July, 2017.
