MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar hosting Brexit conference for Commonwealth parliamentarians

Parliamentarians will be welcomed by CM Fabian Picardo, who will follow the Official Opening by the President of the Gib Branch of the CPA, Adolfo J Canepa.

Nearly forty Parliamentarians from eleven Commonwealth countries and territories (including Falkland Islands) are meeting in Gibraltar in order to discuss the impact of the decision taken in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, among other current issues.

 The Gibraltar Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is hosting the 47th Regional Conference of the British Islands and Mediterranean Region in Gibraltar from 21st – 24th May.

Parliamentarians will be welcomed to the conference by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, who will follow the Official Opening by the President of the Gibraltar Branch of the CPA, Adolfo J Canepa.

The Gibraltar Branch will be represented by the Miss Samantha Sacramento, Minister for Housing and Equality, who is the Leader of the delegation, Steven Linares Minister for Culture, the Media, Youth and Sport and Opposition Members the Edwin J Reyes and Roy M Clinton. The delegation secretary will be Mr. Paul Martinez.

“Gibraltar has long been a member of the Commonwealth family at many levels,” Ms Sacramento said.

“We have always been very committed to participating in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Having been our branch delegation leader at all CPA conferences in the past 4 years I have built up a strong network of contacts that have served. I feel strongly that we should look to our colleagues in the Commonwealth as partners and it is now even more important in a post-Brexit scenario that we continue to develop and enhance these links.”

“Conferences such as this one present the perfect opportunity for us to explore and further enhance these links, given that all the Branches attending will be affected by Brexit.”

“I am particularly happy that Gibraltar is hosting this conference this year, as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the building that houses the Gibraltar Parliament.”

The Conference theme this year is: “Strengthening the role of the BIMR region; considering the role of small branches post Brexit”. There will be a plenary session on the effect of Brexit on the Region and turning to the Commonwealth post-Brexit. In addition to this, the impact of Brexit on different branches will also be debated.

The Conference will take the form of a series of plenary sessions addressed by invited speakers on selected relevant topics followed by workshops during which delegates are invited to contribute and discuss. Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia will address the delegates in his capacity as Minister for Exiting the European Union and the Attorney General Michael Llamas will also do so in a separate session.

The Annual General Meeting of the BIMR will also be held during the Conference.