Minister in London meetings

07 September 2011

Assistant Chief Minister, UK and International Relations, Senator Freddie Cohen is in London today (7 September) to meet Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski and to attend the Eid ul-Fitr event given by the IMAN Foundation.

Mr Kawczynski is Chairman of the Saudi Arabia All Party Parliamentary Group and Parliamentary Chairman of the Conservative Arab Network. Senator Cohen’s meeting with him will focus on building relations between Jersey and Saudi Arabia. During Mr Kawczynski’s recent visit to Jersey he extended an invitation to the Island to include a representative on a forthcoming official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Jersey holds more than £20bn in deposits from the Middle East and Senator Cohen will also be discussing the Island’s increasing provision of Islamic financial services.

Later today, Senator Cohen will attend the IMAN Foundation’s Eid ul-Fitr event, which will take place at Westminster. He will meet the Ambassadors to the UK for Kuwait (HE Mr Khaled Al-Duwaisan GCVO), Tunisia (HE Mr Hatem Atallah) and Panama (HE Mr Gilberto Arias). He will also meet the Chairman of the IMAN Foundation, Ribal Al-Assad.

The IMAN Foundation is a non-partisan and not for profit organisation, which aims to promote dialogue to strengthen international understanding and co-existence through the exchange of ideas, people, culture and religion.

Senator Cohen said: "I am delighted to have this opportunity to promote Jersey at such an important event and to have the opportunity of focusing on Jersey's growing interaction with the Middle East."