During talks with representatives from the Caribbean community in the UK, Baroness Kinnock reinforced the UK's commitment to the region.
Baroness Kinnock, Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the Caribbean and the Commonwealth, reinforced the UK's commitment to the Caribbean during constructive talks with a range of representatives from the Caribbean community in the UK.

During the event, which was organised with the help of the Caribbean Council, Baroness Kinnock and participants discussed a number of important issues facing the UK and the Caribbean, including crime, climate change, the future of the Commonwealth and the global recession.

At a reception following the talks, attended by over 150 members of the Caribbean community in the UK, the Minister paid tribute to the "huge contribution" that the Caribbean community has made to life in the UK and praised how the UK and the region were coming together to tackle global challenges.

'The relationship we have with the Caribbean now is more than just good bilateral ties and shared historical and social links. We also face common problems and challenges... In the round table we just had we discussed some of the new challenges we face - the current economic crisis and drugs and organised crime...'

'We must therefore value our historic ties but more importantly we must nurture our contemporary ties so that we can build for a common future together with strength and equity.'

In her speech the Minister also paid tribute to the Commonwealth, which will hold its Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad & Tobago later this month. Commenting that there was "no organisation better placed to discuss and react to ... poverty eradication and climate change", the Minister called on guests to take part in the debate around the Commonwealth's future, through the Commonwealth Conversation <http://www.thecommonwealthconversation.org> .


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