Your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen – friends of Gibraltar.

I am delighted to be here with you on Gibraltar Day in London. Not least because just over a week ago we were fighting a close general election!

It is our fourth term, and those of us in and around politics know that election battles get tougher the longer you are in office. Lessons however are learnt in tough elections, whether you win or lose, and I am confident that we will deal with this and, with a strengthened team (and two of my newly elected Ministerial colleagues are with us here this evening), we will show that we provide the same freshness, excitement and transformational spirit that we showed when we first stepped into office 12 years ago. So watch this space!

And let it be clear.

In re-electing Fabian Picardo and his government, Gibraltar has made its position known and has given a vote of confidence to our negotiating team and to the negotiating positions that we hold.

I am honoured to be here with you representing the Chief Minister, who many of you know personally, and who sends his regards, and his thanks to you all for attending this annual event at which we celebrate all things Gibraltar. It is, after all, Gibraltar Day.

And so I think that it is fair of me to ask, what comes into your mind when you hear the word  ‘Gibraltar’? And to ask you to consider what ‘Gibraltar’ means to you.

Do you think of the majesty of its geology, of the impact of its geography, the importance of its history, from Neaderthal to 20th Century war, of its biodiversity, its location as a focus for migrating birds, its monkeys, even? Or do you see it as a finance centre, an insurance hub, or a tourist destination?

It is any of these and all, and many other things besides – such a small place inspiring so many perceptions.

Well, to me, it is home. A home where I was born and raised, under the Union Flag that crowned the Rock, and crowns it still, with freedoms that I took for granted and that for much of my youth were not shared by those who lived but metres away to the north.

A home where we express ourselves in a unique combination of Spanish and English, naturally switching codes and words to the consternation of monolingual listeners; having roast beef for lunch one Sunday and Paella the next.

A home where language and gastronomy do not define and are not defined by sovereignty, a home where art thrives, dance excels and music drifts across our rugged landscape, often dressed in red and white. A home with a growing depth and breadth of Literature, already making its mark away from our shores.

Distinguished guests, I say all this because above all Gibraltar is about Gibraltar. About its identity and about who we, its people are. A small nation that is like no other. That is like no other. That will survive simply because it is. Let everyone remember that!

And so today we proudly celebrate our strong, our close and treasured ties with the United Kingdom – stronger and closer than ever – and also our open doors to all friends in and of Great Britain with whom we enjoy or seek to enjoy, growing links and cooperation.

Links in Trade and Commerce, exchanges in Culture and Education, growth in Understanding and Friendship. There is huge untapped potential in Gibraltar, where even the sky is not the limit to what we can achieve in partnership.

The Chief Minister promised the electorate that he would spend more time with them so that he is not only focussing on the decisive issue of our relationship with the European Union, but also on the bread-and-butter issues of everyday life which have been unsettled by Brexit, by the pandemic and subsequent inflation.

As I speak, Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister is seeking to form government, a move which would release the pause button in the almost, but only almost, completed negotiations for a UK-EU agreement on Gibraltar.

Significantly, I would say critically, we will have the same team leading on our negotiations with the EU, something that was recognised by the electorate and that contributed in no small measure to our election victory.

Although the traditional image is one of the Rock and Spain being in a hard place and at loggerheads, the reality is that we have been working steadily, amicably and intensely towards an agreement that would bring a lease of new life to our relations and more importantly to the economies and lives of people and businesses on both sides of our border.

This is so achievable, and will be so welcome on both sides. There is huge potential for a quantum leap in cooperation to unlock prosperity, commercial and social exchanges, a working together in environmental, cultural and educational opportunities. This must, even if secretly, excite everyone who is involved in these negotiations, no matter what side of the table they sit on.

I saw this many years ago, and I am living proof of how this can work. In my field of Environment, well before my time in politics, I have had close cross-frontier links. As just one example, I sit on the board of one of the largest and most biodiverse Natural Parks in Spain, and have done continuously since 1997.

Most importantly, and fundamental to the people of Gibraltar, is that the negotiations take place in the context that we are secure in our British sovereignty and our British identity. Close cooperation does not threaten this at all, as long as there is mutual respect. Because these are talks about co-operation and building the economic and broader ties between Gibraltar and the surrounding regions of Spain; they are NOT about sovereignty.

The United Kingdom is steadfast on our right to self-determination and on respecting and enhancing our British constitutional status. It also stands as firm by the principle and promise that it will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against our freely and democratically expressed wishes. That, to us,means never, ever, ever.

The UK’s assurance that it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content may sound like a mantra, but I can assure you it is not one we ever tire of hearing.

Gibraltar is looking South too. The Chief Minister has given me specific responsibility for furthering relations with our southern neighbour, Morocco, the first time that a Gibraltar Minister has had that responsibility.

Once again there is huge potential here across all sectors, potential that I have every intention of exploring.

So you see, distinguished guests, Gibraltar is forward looking, and looking forward.

We believe that, especially if we have an agreement that allows a free flowing frontier, Gibraltar is a growing and exciting prospect for both traditional trade and the new markets.

We are open for business for well regulated services in the digital financial world, and will shortly be moving significantly into green finance.

We are an important player in the British insurance market and we are focussed and determined on maintaining the high standards we built over many years as members of the EU and now in  partnership with Britain. Nigel Feetham our newly elected Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, is racing ahead in this area, building on the solid work of his predecessor Albert Isola, who is also in London today together with much of our financial services team.

Also here is another new colleague, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, in her capacity as Minister for Business, although her portfolio spans much more.

On a more sombre note, I am sure that you will agree that we cannot ignore the terrible events that have been taking place in the Near East.

Bordering the opposite shore of the same Mediterranean Sea, Gibraltar is a community where different religions live peacefully, and lovingly side by side. Predominantly Christian we have sizeable Jewish and Muslim communities. In that, as in so much else, our tiny nation is an example to the world.

We remain too, solidly in support of the British Forces whose presence on the Rock is a key element in the British and NATO network that protects us, and the core values of the democratic world.

Despite all the terrible things that are happening around the world, events that I honestly thought, a decade or two ago, we would never again see, the biggest existential danger to our communities, indeed to our species, continues to be the impact of Climate Change. As Co-ordinator of the British Territories’ Environment Ministers’ Council, I am only too aware of how it is already impacting and further threatening members of our British family. While we are all working hard to reduce our carbon profiles – Gibraltar has an active Climate Change Strategy and is working hard towards net zero - our collective impact is tiny in comparison to that of the UK.

So it would be remiss of me not to appeal on our collective behalf, that the UK does not renege on its Climate objectives and continues to lead in its fight against Climate Change. It is existential for the British Overseas Territories.

A final thought, distinguished guests. You are, all of you, important to us. Gibraltar will continue to grow in many ways, economically, socially, culturally, but we are small, and the world can be a large and lonely place. We want friends, to partner with us as we move forward. I am certain that we can count on all of you.

And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce someone on whom we can most definitely count, HE the Governor of Gibraltar, Sir David Steel.

ENDS