During the trip, Chief Minister John Le Fondré and External Relations Minister Ian Gorst also met representatives from Kenya to continue work with the African nation’s government with which the government signed an agreement on financial cooperation last year, which including commitments to fight financial crime.
The agreement also paved the way for the return of £3.5m to the Kenyan government that was seized from Jersey-based Windward Trading Ltd, which was involved in a major money-laundering operation.
A government of Jersey spokeswoman said that the discussions on Brexit came at a crucial time for the Island.
‘The Chief Minister and the External Relations Minister’s attendance at the Conservative Party Conference comes at a particularly important time in the Brexit context,’ she said.
‘It is essential that Jersey’s interests are properly understood and accounted for by parliamentarians, third sector organisations and the diplomatic community alike.
‘While the negotiations remain solely in the UK’s remit, we must ensure that we remain engaged in the planning processes for both a potential no deal and any future partnership.’
She added that discussions with the Kenyan representatives were productive with intelligence officers now planning to visit the Island in an effort to tackle corruption.
‘The ministers met officials from the Kenyan High Commission to discuss ongoing progress on the Jersey-Kenya Memorandum of Understanding, signed in December 2018,’ she said.
‘This MoU includes commitments to tackling financial crime, which has led to the forthcoming visits by Jersey Law Officers to Kenya, and Kenyan intelligence officers to Jersey, who are working together to build capacity and combat corruption.
‘The ministers and Kenyan officials agreed that this was an important piece of work at the heart of the strong relationship between the two jurisdictions.’
