Dominica will soon appoint a special envoy to coordinate the country's engagements with the United Kingdom and the European Union, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced.
The Prime Minister said discussions with the British Government were continuing following the United Kingdom's decision to impose a visa requirement on Dominican nationals. The appointment of a dedicated envoy is intended to give Roseau a single, focused point of contact for the talks with London and Brussels.
The announcement comes as Dominica seeks to manage the diplomatic and practical consequences of the UK visa regime, which affects Dominicans travelling to Britain for business, study, family visits and tourism. The European Union has also been reviewing its own visa arrangements for countries in the region, making engagement with Brussels a parallel priority for the Government.
Skerrit indicated that the Government is treating the matter as a continuing diplomatic effort rather than a closed chapter, and that the special envoy will be tasked with coordinating the various strands of the discussions. The envoy is expected to work alongside existing diplomatic channels, including Dominica's missions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to present the country's case.
The Prime Minister's announcement places the visa question firmly within the Government's wider foreign policy agenda. Dominica maintains active relationships across the Caribbean, the Commonwealth and Europe, and the visa issue touches directly on the movement of people, trade and investment links that matter to the island's economy.
For ordinary Dominicans, the outcome of the talks is likely to be felt most immediately at the point of travel. A visa requirement adds cost, paperwork and waiting time for anyone planning to visit the UK, and the Government has faced calls from the diaspora and the private sector to press for a resolution.
The appointment of a special envoy is a recognised diplomatic tool for small states that need to sustain attention on a single issue across multiple capitals. By naming one official to lead the UK and EU engagement, the Government aims to ensure consistency in its messaging and to keep the discussions moving.
Further details, including the identity of the envoy and the timeline for the appointment, have not yet been made public. The Prime Minister's statement did not set out a date for the conclusion of the talks, and officials have given no indication of when the visa question might be resolved.
Dominica 1 will report the appointment and any subsequent developments in the discussions as official information becomes available.
