Chief Secretary in high-level London meetings

The Chief Secretary, Glendon Martinez, travelled to London this week for a series of high-level meetings, No.6 Convent Place said in a statement.

Mr Martinez was joined by the Gibraltar Representative to the United Kingdom Dominique Searle, Political Officer Guy Dumas and Daniella Payas from the Office of the Chief Secretary.

The Gibraltar delegation began their visit on Monday morning with meetings at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

These included a conversation with the Director General for Europe, Peter Wilson, relating to matters concerning the public service in connection to the ongoing treaty negotiations.

The Chief Secretary and team also engaged in discussions regarding the modernisation of the Civil Service, training programmes and civil service forums with senior UK civil servants.

From Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning, the Gibraltar delegation engaged in a series of meetings with UK Parliamentarians. Their discussions were broadly ranged, commencing with a briefing by George Wilson, the Clerk of the European Scrutiny Committee, on Gibraltar's involvement and the committee's operations, moving to a discussion with David Clark, the Deputy Chief of Staff (External Affairs) to the Speaker at the House of Commons, and concluding with an in-depth discussion with Diana Atungire-Ocaya, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Strategic Lead on the UK Overseas Territories Project, focusing on the CPA's initiatives with Gibraltar and its vision for 2024.

On Tuesday, the Gibraltar delegation engaged with the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar Sir Bob Neill and Deputy Chair Stephen Morgan who demonstrated continuous commitment and support to Gibraltar, No.6 said.

The visit concluded with a familiarisation visit to the Gibraltar House in London.

The Chief Secretary, Glendon Martinez, said: “This was an excellent opportunity to meet with senior UK Civil Servants and Parliamentarians to network and familiarise myself with the work that each of them is doing in relation to Gibraltar. It is essential that the Governments of Gibraltar and the United Kingdom work hand-in-glove, and this extends to the work of the Public Service in the implementation of policy.”