The United Kindom announces New Strategy on the Overseas Territories

The United Kingdom plans to strengthen relations with the Overseas territories.

At the just concluded joint Ministerial Council Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced the establishment of a new UK Government strategy on the Overseas Territories.

The JMC says it is looking forward to collaborating in its development, setting the direction for a relationship firmly based on the principles of collaboration and mutual interest.

The Overseas Territories further welcome that each Government Department will have an assigned Minister responsible for their Department’s relationship with the Territories. These Ministers will meet as a group chaired by the Minister for the Overseas Territories.

The communique also states that the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, as enshrined in the UN Charter, applies to the peoples of the Overseas Territories.

The UK and Overseas Territories reaffirmed the importance of promoting the right of self-determination for the peoples of the Territories, which is a collective responsibility of all parts of the UK Government.

Both the UK Government and the Overseas territories says they will continue to explore ways in which the Overseas Territories can maintain international support in countering hostile sovereignty claims.

For those Territories with permanent populations who wish it, the UK announces it will continue to support requests for the removal of the Territory from the United Nations list of non-self-governing Territories.