The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, has welcomed the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the European Union, Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, to Gibraltar for a working visit focused on implementation of the Gibraltar Treaty.

The visit started with a tour of Gibraltar International Airport, where the Chief Minister and the Ambassador were joined by the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, the Attorney General Michael Llamas and the Government’s Chief Technical Officer, Hector Montado.

Ambassador Croisdale-Appleby was accompanied by colleagues from the Convent.

The airport is central to Gibraltar’s preparations for Treaty implementation. On the Gibraltar side, significant infrastructure, systems and process works were completed ahead of the original 10 April deadline. On the Spanish side, works are progressing well.

Some of the arrangements in place are interim measures designed to enable partial implementation on 15 July, with further, longer-term changes to follow as the airport takes its final form.

The visit by the Ambassador follows the Chief Minister’s recent meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, at which both sides agreed to place the emphasis firmly on implementation. Today’s visit was a direct expression of that commitment.

Fabian Picardo KC MP said: “Lindsay is a genuine friend of Gibraltar and has worked closely with my Government for more than 10 years now. It was a pleasure to catch up and show him the works at Gibraltar International Airport. I think Lindsay was impressed with what he saw. We will continue to work hard, hand-in-glove with our UK colleagues, to deliver the Treaty’s real benefits.”