UK to Pour 75 Million Pounds Sterling into Caribbean Projects

The United Kingdom plans to put 75 million pounds sterling over a four-year period into development projects in the Caribbean, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague told Caribbean Foreign Ministers on Saturday.

Speaking at the Opening Plenary of the 7th UK-Caribbean Forum held in St. Georges, Grenada over the weekend, Hague said that the investment represented a considerable increase on previous aid budgets and signaled the UK’s strong commitment to the region, a release from the CARICOM Secretariat yesterday stated.

In the area of prosperity, Hague said that the core task of both regions was to create new opportunities for trade, investment and innovation in their respective economies. In this regard, he stated that he would consider pushing for greater representation of the Region’s interests in the G20.

The UK Foreign Secretary also said that his government would continue to work with the Caribbean to tackle drugs and violent crime, which affects both the UK and the Caribbean.

With regard to climate change, Hague applauded the Caribbean for the crucial role it had played “in focusing the attention of the international community on the existential threat posed by climate change to small island states,” and expressed hope that the Caribbean would continue excellent cooperation on this issue.