Britain remains committed to Guyana - UK High Commissioner

Britain remains committed to Guyana – UK High Commissioner

Jul 17, 2016 News

UK High Commissioner, Greg Quinn

…Brexit Effects will only be short-term

The University of Guyana began its series of “Tain and Turkeyen Talks” last Tuesday at Duke Lodge, Kingston. The panellists discussed the implications of the Brexit vote.
Sitting on the panel was UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn, who said that the effects of Britain’s exit from the European Union will be at most short-term.
On June 23, last, a referendum vote was held in the UK to decide whether the country should leave or remain in the EU. The majority voted for Britain to withdraw from the EU.
Following the vote there has been public debate regarding what could be the possible far reaching effects of the vote.
Quinn told the gathering of students, lecturers, Government and private sector officials, that the world did not stop spinning on June 24, 2016, when the results were announced.
He said that the new position in which Britain finds itself will encourage the building of new relationships, between the UK and EU; and the UK and the Commonwealth.
According to Quinn these new agreements which will have to be put in place will provide opportunities to expand cooperation, trade and other activities.
“We see for example, the reinvigoration of the relationship with the Commonwealth that Prime Minister Cameron started last year.”
Further, the High Commissioner said that the UK is not going anywhere. He guaranteed that his nation intends to continue playing an influential role in the world; politically and economically.
Quinn said that the Brexit vote will not affect his country’s presence and role in the Caribbean region. He said that the UK is still in the region and is for the region. He told the forum that Britain will remain committed to Guyana and that all promised funding will still be provided.
Quinn said that the reasons for the referendum are now irrelevant. He considers it as an exercise of democracy and that the choice of the people has been clear. He said that until Britain fully exits the EU it will continue to play its role as a full member of the organisation. Britain will formally leave the EU in 2018.
The High Commissioner declared that Britain’s role in the world was not solely dependent on its presence in the EU. He said that his country is still the world’s fifth largest economy; it is still a member of the G7 states and the Commonwealth of Nations.
He also acknowledged that the vote did come with its fair share of negative impacts. Quinn said that the vote has indeed created an atmosphere of uncertainty, particularly in the political and economic arenas. However, he does not foresee these impacts surviving over a prolonged period.
The High Commissioner reported that since the historic vote there has been an upsurge of hate crimes in Britain. He said that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. He said that his country continues to stand behind its fundamental principles, the rule of law and will uphold the human rights of all people.
The Brexit vote was one of the headlining issues discussed at the recently held at the Thirty-Seventh Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government as West Indians were sceptical about how the vote will affect the Region.
Chairman of the Conference Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit said that the Region has had a profound relationship with the UK and it is one of the Region’s most important trading partners.
Additionally, he said that West Indians should not allow themselves to be driven to imitate what happened to Britain.

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