The United Kingdom remains committed to meeting the reasonable needs of Territories where financial self-sufficiency is not possible.
The commitment was made at the Joint Ministerial Council in London.
The UK stated that the Overseas Territories continue to have the first call on the UK’s aid budget to facilitate sustainable economic growth and development.
The UK also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Territories’ transition to economic independence.
Furthermore, the UK will continue to represent Territories’ interests in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Assistance Committee (DAC), as part of country Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility and graduation.
The Government announced that recently, in partnership with Montserrat, it helped to secure a pause to Montserrat’s ODA graduation, pending a wider review of graduation criteria.
At the JMC, the Overseas Territories reiterated that they should be able to access development funds from regional and global multilateral institutions.
The UK says it will continue to champion this objective, recognising that these decisions are for the individual institutions.
It acknowledges the challenges posed by elevated global inflation, recognises the real gap left when Territory organisations and programmes lost access to EU funding.
The UK says it will therefore work with the Territories to target assistance where it best matches the UK’s responsibilities and the Territories’ needs.