The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, will lead one of the strongest ever delegations of UK ministers and officials to attend the UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum with the government’s review of its relationship with its overseas territories.

The British Overseas Territories include the Caribbean territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

William Hague said that a modern relationship should centre around three principles:

First, it should be a modern partnership, a relationship of equals that takes the best from our shared history and culture. We work together, he said, on climate change – and have worked together successfully at Durban, and the Commonwealth.

Second, we need a dynamic partnership that delivers real benefits for our citizens by continuing and strengthening our efforts to make our streets safer by tackling the problems of drug and violent crime.

Finally, the UK’s relationship with the Caribbean should be a broad-based partnership that involves business, civil society and ordinary people.

The private sector is the engine of growth for our economies, so it is right that they frame the questions that we politicians will discuss. The UK is a major investor in the Caribbean, Hague concluded.

No mention was made of the uses of trusts and foundations!