MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Message from the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to the people of the Falkland Islands

Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addressed the following message: “Hello everybody! This has been an extraordinary year. From Stanley to Portsmouth, we honored those who fought to keep the Falklands free 40 years ago. We remembered those who lost their lives, we celebrated the moment when the Union Jack was raised at Government House once again, and we pledged our continued commitment to your self-determination.”

“Four decades on, the Falklands are thriving home to people of more than 60 nationalities Not forgetting the penguins, the seals, seabirds, and visiting killer whales,” he said.

And expressed: “I’m pleased to hear that more people will now enjoy your beautiful

”Islands thanks to the return of cruise ships and the weekly commercial flight from Chile.

“If this was the year we were united in our remembrance of 1982 it was also the year we were united in our grief at the passing of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

”Victory Green reverberated to the sound of a 96-gun salute just as the guns paid tribute in Hyde Park, at the Tower of London andaround the world.

“Of course, one of her late Majesty’s final acts was to declare Stanley a city – giving it the distinction of being one of the smallest cities in the world.

”So it’s a great pleasure to be the first Prime Minister to send season’s greetings to the “city dwellers” of Stanley – and to people across the whole Falkland Islands I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year… Let’s join together in raising a toast to His Majesty King Charles III, and to your place in our great British family,” Sunak concluded.