France’s Consul General, Mr. Philippe Létrilliart, who is stationed in Miami, Florida, met top Government officials on his first visit to the Cayman Islands this week. The Consul General has jurisdiction for French consular matters in Florida, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Accompanied by the Honorary French Consul, Mr. Sebastien Guilbard, the Consul General met Her Excellency the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick Wednesday, 24 September, 2014. The dignitaries talked about UK and French presence in the region.

On Tuesday, the Consul General had meetings with the Deputy Premier Hon. Moses Kirkconnell and Finance Minister Hon. Marco Archer and Tourism Ministry Chief Officer Mr. Stran Bodden as well as the Chamber of Commerce CEO, Mr. Wil Pineau.

During the meetings, the Consul General highlighted the over 450 French businesses operating in Florida as well as in the Caribbean and their capabilities.

Areas of expertise include large construction projects including docks, stadia, hospitals and highways as well as airport management, Consul Guilbard said. One successful public-private sector partnership was a tunnel project constructed by Bouygues (pronounced Bwig) from the Miami freight harbour to a highway. The same company is also now involved in highway construction in Jamaica, he added.

In November, a French team will be in the Cayman Islands to collaborate with the Customs Department in training with Customs Officers, notably to deal with security and drug trafficking issues, Mr. Létrilliart said at a reception on Tuesday evening at Guy Harvey’s Restaurant. This provided an opportunity for him to meet other government officials and Honorary Consuls as well as French nationals to inform them about services provided by the Consul General and the Honorary Consul’s offices.

For those looking for information about France, you can check the Consulate’s website (http://consulfrance-miami.org) or contact Mr. Guilbard on (345-326-1014 or [email protected]).

Photo captions: Photos by Bina Mani

Photo 1: French Consul General, Mr. Philippe Létrilliart (centre), who is stationed in Miami, Florida, met government officials (l-r): Chief Officer in the Ministry of Home and Community Affairs, Mr. Eric Bush, Governor’s Staff Officer Ms. Joanne Vaughan, French Honorary Consul in the Cayman Islands, Mr. Sebastien Guilbard and Head of the Governor’s Office, Mr. Gary Benham.

Photo 2: Chief Officer Eric Bush, French Consul General Philippe Létrilliart and Honorary Consul Sebastien Guilbard

Photo 3: French Consul General Philippe Létrilliart addresses French residents at a reception on Tuesday evening

Photo 4: Government officials, Honorary Consuls and French nationals met French Consul General Philippe Létrilliart and Honorary Consul Sebastien Guilbard at a reception at Guy Harvey’s Restaurant on Tuesday evening

For the official Cayman Islands Government web portal, www.gov.ky