The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)
I wish to update the House on the eighth biennial UK-Caribbean ministerial forum, which took place in London from 16 to 17 June 2014.
The forum brought together Foreign Ministers and representatives of the countries of the Caribbean community (CARICOM), the Dominican Republic and the CARICOM secretariat. The premiers of the UK’s Caribbean overseas territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands participated as observers. Together we committed to further strengthening the partnership between the UK and the Caribbean, and agreed on a plan of action to take forward co-operation on areas of joint interest.
The forum focused on promoting prosperity and economic resilience in both the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. It included sessions on economic development, energy, education and security, as well as discussions on foreign policy issues. In addition, and in recognition of the importance of the commercial relationship between the UK and the Caribbean, where our bilateral trade is already around £2 billion a year, delegates attended a UK-Caribbean trade and investment forum, a private sector event focused on boosting business-to-business links.
At the conclusion of the forum, Ministers agreed a communiqué summarising our discussions and setting out follow-up activity for the UK and Caribbean to pursue in partnership.
On energy, we agreed to work together to explore the potential of natural gas and renewable sources as an alternative to the current oil import dependence in the Caribbean, to work with the private sector to share experiences and technical expertise of smart grids and distribution systems, and to enhance dialogue on utility reform.
On education and skills, we agreed to build partnerships between UK and Caribbean educational institutions, to bring together young leaders from academia, business and civil society, and to work together to boost skills development programmes.
To enhance our mutual security, we discussed information and asset-sharing agreements, including sharing data on criminal activities, fingerprints and associated information, and financial and tax data. In addition, we shared views on building effective extradition systems to ensure that perpetrators of criminal activity cannot evade justice.
Representatives of the UK and the Caribbean also stated our shared commitment to promoting global sustainable development, and agreed to work together to secure a single compelling framework and a set of post-2015 goals centred on eradicating extreme poverty.
We also discussed current foreign policy challenges and reaffirmed our commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict, consistent with the principles and purposes of the UN charter, including the right to self-determination for all peoples.
The UK-Caribbean ministerial forum is part of how we protect and promote our national interests, strengthen our economy and make the most of the opportunities of the 21st century. It represents an important element of UK-Caribbean relations. I will place in the Library of the House a copy of the agreed text of the communiqué from the UK-Caribbean ministerial forum.