UK Minister of State for Latin America travels to Guatemala
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State for Latin America, the Rt. Hon Hugo Swire MP, arrives in Guatemala next Tuesday.
Hugo Swire
It is his first visit to the country, and the first by a British Minister since November 2010.
Minister Swire will have bilateral meetings with President Otto Perez Molina, Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera, and recently appointed Attorney General, Thelma Aldana. He will also visit one of Guatemala’s largest fruit exporters to the UK in Chimaltenango and an awareness raising project on sexual violence against women in Guatemala, just two weeks after End Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit in London led by the Foreign Secretary and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie.
The Minister will also meet with British business in the energy sector whom, together, have invested over $1billion in Guatemala.
On Wednesday, Minister Swire will visit Street Kids Direct, a UK NGO working in Guatemala with homeless children and other vulnerable people in Guatemala City. Later that day, he is due to attend an event at a local university, meeting professors, students and other special guests to discuss the Falkland Islands and promote the Islanders’ right to self-determination.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Minister Swire said:
I look forward to my visit to Guatemala next week. I hope that my time in the country can help both of our countries to press ahead with our shared priorities and interests, not least trade between the UK and the largest economy in Central America. I am glad to be able to see some of the country during my brief stay, and look forward to discussing human rights issues following last week’s End Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit in London.