MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands will attend BOT Joint Ministerial Council in London on December

The JMC meeting in December at Lancaster House, will be hosted by FCO Minister for the Overseas Territories James Duddridge MP.

The Falkland Islands will be attending the fourth meeting of the British Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) will be held in London on 1 - 2 December at Lancaster House, which will be hosted by FCO Minister for the Overseas Territories James Duddridge MP.

 The JMC is the principal forum for reviewing and implementing the shared strategy for promoting security, good governance and sustainable development of the Overseas Territories (OTs).

The strategy, set out in the 2012 Overseas Territories White Paper, calls for a whole of government approach to supporting the Overseas Territories and Territory leaders will have discussions with ministers from a range of UK government departments.

Issues to be discussed this year include child safeguarding, economic development, and setting a vision for the UK and the OTs in 2030. Elected leaders and representatives from the following Territories will attend: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Overseas Territories are very diverse; with thousands of small islands, vast areas of ocean, but also in Antarctica, land six times the size of the United Kingdom. They include one of the world’s richest communities, in Bermuda; the most remote community, in Tristan da Cunha and one of the smallest, with only 54 people living on Pitcairn Island.

The total population of the territories is roughly a quarter of a million. The UK Government published a White Paper on the Overseas Territories on the 28 June 2012, setting out its overall approach.