FCO’s Latin America Director travels to Guatemala
The Latin America Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Nigel Baker, will travel to Guatemala 25-26 October.
Nigel Baker
His visit is part of a regional tour to advance political, economic and security cooperation with Central America and meet representatives of the Guatemalan Government, private sector and civil society.
Mr Baker will discuss ways to strengthen the UK – Guatemala economic relationship, especially in light of the upcoming UK exit from the EU (Brexit) and discuss proposals to reach a free trade agreement between the UK and Central America in succession to the EU Central America Association Agreement, as soon as possible after Brexit.
This is Mr Baker’s first visit to Guatemala and he be using the visit to discuss with different sectors Guatemala’s efforts to improve the business environment, improve transparency and advance prosperity for all Guatemalans.
With the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Baker will advance discussions on political, economic, and security cooperation, especially in multilateral fora where the UK and Guatemala work closely together. He will also highlight the UK’s ongoing commitment to collaborate with the Guatemalan authorities in their response to the Fuego Volcano event, especially as regards scientific cooperation to prepare and better respond to emergencies.
In June this year, the UK contributed along with other donors to the Start Fund to provide humanitarian assistance to the Volcano eruption victims worth Q1.8 million quetzals. UK institutions have also provided specific scientific collaboration to map risks at the Volcano Fuego area and train local authorities.