British foreign minister wants the UK and Caribbean to fully exploit centuries-old relationship

British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, has stated that Jamaica and the Caribbean have had a disproportionate impact on the United Kingdom "over centuries" and full advantage must be taken of their relationship

He was speaking on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 11th United Kingdom (UK)-Caribbean Ministerial Forum, at The Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston.

Cleverly said that the Caribbean and the UK are united by ties of kinship. 

“People from Caribbean nations have played a disproportionate and positive impact in the UK, economically, socially, culturally and that's not just over the last few decades, that is over centuries and so we must take full advantage of those long-standing ties by working bilaterally, by working regionally, and by working multilaterally,” he said. 

He shared that he has often advocated for the UK to make the most of this long-standing relationship and not fall into “comfortable inaction”. 

In lauding the UK as the Caribbean's “longest and most dynamic development partner”, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson Smith, stated that Caribbean people have made crucial contributions to the development of the UK.

She also lamented the “interlocking crises” of the region and called for a new perspective. 

“Underscoring the multiple and interlocking challenges faced by the countries of the Caribbean is the lack of effective financing for development, the lack of fiscal space due to high levels of indebtedness and the inability to access grant and concessional financing due to OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) criteria for graduation are not new areas of advocacy for Caribbean countries,” she said. 

Adding that this deepens the urgency for new approaches to international financial architecture and the collective intentions and desire to achieve sustainable development goals. 

“Partnerships like these enable us to meet the moment and confront the challenges of our time,” she said. 

Matters of reparation and issues relating to the Windrush generation formed part of the agenda of Thursday's forum.

Sustainable and economic development, security and immigration and the promotion of common values and shared interests were also discussed. 

This is the first in-person meeting of the UK-Caribbean Forum since 2016. It concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and CARICOM concerning the Establishment of a Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism.

-Sashana Small

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