Above: UK Minister for the Overseas Territories Mark Simmonds
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Mark Simmonds, the Minister for the Overseas Territories at the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will be visiting the Cayman Islands next week.
Simmonds’ visit will begin on Tuesday, about three weeks before the holding of the Joint Ministerial Council.
“I am delighted to be making my first visit, as a Minister, to the Cayman Island, an important centre for the global financial services industry,” Simmonds said in a statement. “I am looking forward to meeting Premier McLaughlin again and his colleagues in Government and to discussing with them how we can work together on our shared commitments in the White Paper and the JMC communiqué. I am particularly looking forward to meeting young Caymanians and hearing about the challenges that Cayman’s youth faces now and in the future.”
The visit will includes talks with McLaughlin, Cayman’s Finance Minister and the territory’s Cabinet.
He will also visit the port area, call on a lionfish lab at the Department of the Environment and meet with opposition lawmakers, along with addressing a dinner hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, according to the government.