Premier of Montserrat and Minister of Finance, Reuben T. Meade is in London for the annual Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) where he will attend high level discussions, as well as bilateral meetings with senior UK officials and private sector representatives.
According to the Government Information Unit (GIU), on Sunday, November 17, the premier along with Minister of Agriculture, John P. Osborne met with the representatives of the various Montserrat associations, at the Montserrat UK Office Headquarters. During the meeting, Premier Meade highlighted that this approach of bringing the representatives of all the various associations together, would allow for greater cooperation and to better focus leveraging the capacity of Montserratians living abroad for the development of Montserrat.
Discussions on Monday focused on access solutions, building of reciprocal trade links between the UK and Montserrat, enhancing Montserrat’s tourism capacity, agricultural production, civil service reform through the utilization of modern technology and mechanisms to access and utilize the skills of Montserratians living abroad.
These meetings on Sunday and Monday were also attended by Financial Secretary, Kenya Lee and Head of the Montserrat UK-Office, Kei-Retta Farrell. Governor Mrs. Sarah Tucker joined the delegation on Tuesday, November 19 and will continue to participate in JMC and other bilateral meetings.
During the remainder of the week, the premier will meet with the other Overseas Territory leaders to have discussions on cross cutting issues. This will be followed by the Montserrat delegation attending the main JMC discussions, with bilateral meetings focusing on critical issues facing Montserrat, as well as private sector meetings to include trade and banking.
