Over 40 Caymanian Students enjoyed an evening with The Premier, Hon Alden McLaughlin, on Saturday 2 December in London. This annual event is hosted by The Premier and held at the Cayman Islands Government Offices in Mayfair.

The tradition of Cayman students getting together in London before the Christmas holidays has been honoured by the Cayman Islands Government London Office for over ten years, and this year’s event was the largest yet. The size of this event is a result of the efforts of the Cayman Islands Government and the Cayman Student Ambassadors of Cayman Connection UK (CCUK) who ensure that Caymanians in the UK are connected and receiving support and encouragement during their time away from home.

The event marks the end of a busy week of meetings and events for The Premier and his Delegation from Cayman. The Cayman Delegation included The Minister of Financial Services and Home Affairs, Hon Tara Rivers MLA; Senior Political Advisor to The Premier, Mr Roy Tatum and Senior Political Advisor to the Cabinet Office, Mr Jason Webster. Also in attendance was The Cayman Islands Governor Designate, Mr Anwar Choudhury.

Kate Kandiah, who runs the CCUK network welcomed guests, introduced special guests and thanked the Cayman Islands Government for hosting the event. Ms Kandiah followed with updates about CCUK including introductions of the new team of Cayman Student Ambassadors, new features on the CCUK website, mentor and networking programmes and a reminder to the students of how to get involved.

Hon Alden McLaughlin followed by updating the students of Government affairs in Cayman and encouraging all in their studies. Mr McLaughlin introduced Minister Rivers, who gave a rousing message to students about to how to speak confidently to peers around the topic of the Cayman Islands as a financial centre and how to make informed responses to attacks about misconceptions of the Cayman Islands’ tax jurisdiction.

The talks ended with The Governor Designate, Mr Anwar Choudhury, commenting that he was very much looking forward to beginning his post as HE The Governor of the Cayman Islands next year and ensuring the students that he stands ready to assist them wherever possible.

Ms Kandiah said of the event: “I am always encouraged to see so many new faces at these events, this year we welcomed over ten new students who had not been to this event in previous years. This shows that our message of support for Cayman students in the UK is being heard. I am delighted to have had such a wonderful response. I commend the Cayman Islands Government for their increasing efforts to help young Caymanians get the absolute best from their tertiary education, and for their continued support for the students while they are far from home.”