The UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab MP visited Gibraltar with FCDO Minister Wendy Morton MP on the 29th March for the UK-Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council.
The day marked another phase in the lifting of COVID restrictions on the Rock, and the delegation spent some time along Main Street as well as discussing matters at hand in more business-like surroundings.
The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK’s longstanding commitment that it will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes. Nor will it enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.
Top of the agenda was the approach to negotiating the upcoming treaty between the EU and UK with specific respect to Gibraltar. The framework for this was agreed at the end of 2020, as announced by the Chief Minister and the UK at that time.
Twenty-two University of Gibraltar students have taken their leap into the workplace with placements across different sectors.
This time away from pure study lasts from between six and ten weeks, and is an integral part of the Bachelor of Business degree course.
Spanish student Jose-Miguel is in his second year of the programme and has chosen to specialise in finance, “I am doing my placement at a family-run finance firm. Last year I also had the opportunity to do my placement at PwC. This is a great experience because I am developing the skills and acquiring the knowledge required to embark on a career in the financial sector, which is my goal.”
Denise Matthews, Founder of One Media & Events and Chapter Director at Startup Grind Gibraltar is hosting a first-year student who has chosen marketing as their preferred major. Denise said, “Welcoming a student from the university to learn and experience different ways of working from remote work to digital marketing for a global brand is extremely rewarding. This placement is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs through our strong partnership with the University of Gibraltar that has been in place for almost four years. We are delighted to support them.”
Marketing is also the major for first-year student Amelia Lewis-Berry who is spending her placement at a local marketing and creative agency, The Bulb. Its CEO, Dylan Trenado, said, “The Bulb is delighted to offer a work placement to a University of Gibraltar student. Amelia will be learning about online/offline marketing and how our company operates as a whole to assist clients with their marketing and creative requirements. We believe offering this opportunity to students will help them gain experience that they will carry with them to their careers.”
Volotea Announces Gib Route
An airline setup by the original founders of successful budget carrier Vueling has announced a new route to Gibraltar.
Volotea will be flying between Gibraltar and Bilbao starting from 2nd July using an Airbus A319. Volotea will be the only airline to connect Gibraltar with a Spanish city. Around 8000 seats will be available between July and September.
Carlos Muñoz, Founder and CEO of Volotea heralded the announcement. “True to our vocation, we want to continue to connect small and medium- sized cities with great flexibility and to do so with maximum safety. We are very happy to be able to announce the opening of this new route that seeks to satisfy a demand that was not being met”.
Minister for Business, Tourism, Transport and the Port of Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar the Hon Vijay Daryanani MP added, “I welcome the announcement made today by Volotea on the start of flights from Bilbao, Spain to Gibraltar for the summer of 2021. I am delighted to see the addition of yet another carrier serving Gibraltar and a new route that opens up a completely new catchment area from another country.”
“I am sure that this announcement will be welcomed by our tourism industry in Gibraltar and our business community, as this service creates further opportunities to attract visitors to Gibraltar.”
The exact start date and operation of the route is subject to regulatory approval.
