On Friday 5^th October Guernsey hosted the annual political summit with Jersey, Normandy and La Manche, to discuss progress on areas of joint working that form part of the cooperation agreement signed by the jurisdictions in 2015. Alderney and Sark are associate members of the agreement.

The summit was hosted by the member of the Policy & Resources Committee with responsibility for External Relations, and will be attended by Senator John Le Fondré, Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Ian Gorst, Jersey Minister for External Relations, Hervé Morin, President of the Region of Normandy and Marc Lefèvre, President of the Conseil Départemental of La Manche.

The programme for the day consisted of a political meeting to discuss the areas of cooperation that are being worked on, as well as a signing of an agreement between Guernsey Museums, Jersey Heritage and Normandy network of Museums (Fabrique du Patrimoine) to work together.

The day ended with a visit to the exhibition of Norman photographer Olivier Meriel. His portraits of Anglo-Norman figures form a traveling exhibition, which will continue in Jersey in 2019, and the Musée de Normandie in Caen 2020 to integrate Normandy Impressionism’s programming.

On 12 June, Guernsey and Jersey have signed a cooperation agreement with the department of Ille et Vilaine in Brittany to promote greater partnership working between the jurisdictions. This was the first annual summit in La Gouesnière (near Saint-Malo) gathering the three jurisdictions, as Jersey first signed a partnership with the French department in 2008. This year, Guernsey has joined the partnership for the first time, and the three jurisdictions engaged to work collaboratively for the forthcoming three years on projects of mutual interest.

Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, Minister for External Relations of the Government of Jersey, the member of the Policy & Resources Committee with responsibility for External Relations of Guernsey, and Jean-Luc Chenut, President of the Conseil Départemental of Ille-et-Vilaine, jointly chaired the summit where various subjects were discussed. These included educational links; youth mobility; sports exchanges; cultural initiatives; construction; and digital opportunities.

“It was both an honour for me and a significant step forward for us to sign the cooperation agreement along with Jersey and the authorities of Ille et Vilaine.” The member of the Policy & Resources Committee with responsibility for External Relations of Guernsey declared.

President of the Conseil Départemental of Ille-et-Vilaine, Jean-Luc Chenut said:

“In a context where temptations to withdraw from society are asserting everywhere in Europe and, in the world, it seems essential to me that the Department of Ille et Vilaine firmly reaffirms its commitment to the international cooperation”

As far as the Government of Jersey and the States of Guernsey are concerned, this desire for openness is also part of a close relationship, integrating the maritime and coastal specificities of our territories.