Cortes attends UK Overseas Territories political council

The Minister for the Environment and Education, Dr John Cortes, has attended the UK Overseas Territories Association’s political council in London in support of the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, as he has done each year for the last 14 years.

The main item on the agenda was preparation for the Joint Ministerial Council with His Majesty's Government, with discussions covering education, climate change, security and health.
Dr Cortes is the chair of the UK Overseas Territories environment ministers’ council, which last met online on March 12 2025.

Executive Director of Gibraltar House in London, Ty Duarte, said: “UKOTA is a forum for the Overseas Territories to share experiences. It comes ahead of the Joint Ministerial Council which also involves the UK’s Europe Minister, Stephen Doughty MP. My role has been to coordinate Gibraltar’s input for the week with the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office and UKOTA”.

Dr Cortes said: “It's useful to be present at these meetings in order to make sure that Gibraltar's voice is heard and that we continue to be a part of the collective of Overseas Territories.

It’s been a pleasure to represent Gibraltar in this forum for well over a decade, and the meetings provide an important opportunity to catch up with key players in the OTs network, share our developments and continue to work together towards joint goals to our mutual benefit.”

“I am particularly looking forward to my meeting on a one-to-one with the Minister for Nature Mary Creagh, who is an old friend and I’m confident we will do good work together this week.”