Britain and Dominica are in the process forging closer ties with a nine-member delegation from the British High Commission, along with the British High Commissioner Victoria Dean, currently on the island.
Addressing a press conference at the Fort Yong Hotel on Thursday, Dean said the one-week visit to Dominica is ‘somewhat different.’
“On this visit we are doing something a little bit different,” she said. “I have a big team with me representing a little piece of everything that the British government does here in the Caribbean region.”
According to the British High Commissioner, the team consists of her colleagues from the Consular office who are here doing outreach to British citizens, or people who would like to travel to Britain or go to study there.
The team is also conducting crisis planning by observing how both Dominicans and British living here would react in the event of a crisis on the island.
There is also a trade team who is looking for opportunities for British businesses to invest here, set up business or to get their products into the Dominican market and equally looking at how Dominican businesses can get a chance to operate in Britain.
Another team, among the delegation, is the ‘political team’ who will be assisting Dean in understanding the political side of the country.
There are also teams from the National Crime Agency in Britain, as well as other policing services, who are looking at how to tackle narcotics which flow into Dominica from the region, many destined for the United Kingdom.
The delegation has already paid visits to the Princess Margaret Hospital, Geothermal Project site in the Roseau Valley, businesses, senior political leaders and government officials.
On Thursday afternoon the team plan on visiting British-based businesses and at 6.30 pm there will be a film at the Alliance Francaise.
The film, which is called “About Time,” is a British romance film and is one the latest in a series of British films.
“And the very best news is that it’s free and it’s open to everybody,” Dean said.
She also pointed out that the team is promoting a scholarship program in the United Kingdom. “One other thing that we will be doing here this week is promoting the Chevening Scholarship Program,” Dean stated. “This is a program that the British government has run for 30 years now, where we fully fund students to travel to Britain and complete a master’s degree in a particular field of study.”
She pointed out that the program targets law, engineering, education and a whole variety of subjects.
“And what we really do is seek to find the brightest future leaders in a country and select them for this scholarship program,” she noted. “We will be able to send four students from the Eastern Caribbean back to Britain to study and in about a month’s time we will be opening our application for that program.”
The team is expected to be on the island until Friday.
One thing Marn Haffi say about that,,,
Go back and look at what allyou and GEEST did to the little folks and them come back!!!
“There is also a trade team who is looking for opportunities for British businesses to invest here”(Victoria Dean).
Here is an opportunity that many Dominicans hoped for. We wish for that for a very long time; the opportunity is a given on a silver platter. Let us see the how the powers that be, the Labor is going to handle this great opportunity, and the outcome. I personally hope that the powers that be will not procrastinate, thus allowing such opportunity to slip between their feet.
The trade team is in Dominica, they came knocking on our door, I hope greed and corruption will not cause some money hungry politician to ask for a payoff under the table in order for whichever interesting company to set up business in the country.
To the politicians I say opportunities lost are never regained; this is it; I hope that the powers that be will conduct themselves accordingly, and appropriately! The Labor Party in the late 1950’s chased the British Companies such as L. Rose & Company, Gease Industries, and all the other British investors out of the country.
This is an opportunity to redeem the Labor Party, and clean their slate of the bigotry and hate they perpetrated on the British people in the years past. While however, the Labor Party were chasing the British out of Dominica, our people were leaving every two weeks, migrating to England, the British did not lock us out from the vast West Indian migration, into England; this is the time to allow the British Investiments back into our country.
All the better they intend to invest; they will be creating badly needed jobs to the some youths of the country. We should all appreciate their intent.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Great, that is good news, I missed the days when we were completely under the British system , good old days
These people are a joke and more slimy than a slug. A technically bankrupt nation sending one of their nobodies to slime around in our paradise. They never have anything tangible or positive to offer and are always on the make.
What ever negative things people think about the Chinese at least they come with a plan whereby D’ca can progress. This trojan horse is probably down here to see what aspects of our progress they can make something from or suck the lifeblood or cripple it, just like they did to the banana industry together with their bosom buddies.
Since their dirty little Air Passenger Duty scheme will not bring in the revenues they hoped for after April 2015, they are now looking for other ways of exercising their neo-colonial predilection on the Black people of this region. You watch and see if governments in this region are blind enough to be taken in by their forked tongue, within the next year to 18 months they will impose some other scam to extort or tax what they no longer own…………….
They better hurry up before Skerrit lets China make Dominica a colony.
Double talk.
Double-cross!!
THERE ARE OPPRTUNITIES TO BE REALISE.Capitalise on the information and make a decision to be productive.
When you bought something it belongs to you right. the British bought this place from the french for $12,00000 this is why it called wait y
a place of many problems.so it is no surprise that oil and gold is found so the British want their share
We can’t bring back the past. The British did not ask for it. You know who was responsible for D/ca seceding from Great Britain.
Look at it positively. At least they are trying to do something good for Dominica and its nationals, to renew ties without demanding anything. You should be thankful.
Having stated that, the thought ran across my mind, look beyond. In the long run, it could very well be a protection for Dominica and prove to be a blessing in disguise. You should have an idea of what I mean.
God is good to D/ca and nationals and you are not aware of it. Think of it.
Everytime I hear Britain my mine drift way back to ……. days.
Suggested Rating for “About Time” is PG-13: (for sexual content, partial nudity, some strong language, and a brief disturbing image)
We The Authorities have advised Ms. Dean to correct her statement “And the very best news is that it’s free and it’s open to everybody,” as the Religious bodies intend to oppose the viewing by minors.
That’s good. They are bringing the ratings lower and lower and spreading the filfth to the children. Tell them keep their films for themselves. Saw the romance of the commonwealth games? An insult to the other commonwealth nations for whom it is illegal
Is it objectionable and/or partly objectionable? Not fit for the family? Explain yourself.
Prime minister,
Tell Elizabeth: repatriation.
repatriation for what?
Here you go again another DONKEY looking for handout.
Great Britain may have financially helped D/ca immensely but D/cans were not aware of it. When D/ca seceded, I am certain G.B. gave the government a substantial sum of money. D/cans were not told about it or the amount.
What happened to it? How was it spent? D/ca continued to be a poor nation and “worst than it is today”. I am asking you, how much did D/ca benefit from Statehood and Independence?
As I have previously stated, in those days there was no TV and nothing was transparent. Dominicans were left in the dark. They were not aggressive in mannerisms and did not question anything as some are today, wanting more and wanting to hear and know everything. You must give this a thought.