Sir John SwanPrime Minister, Friends:
Prime Minister Swan is always a very welcome visitor to London and he comes and keeps us extremely well-briefed about all of the position in Bermuda—which we think is a very very favourable one—and it is very important to us to know what is happening in this part of the world.
In a way, as I am sure Prime Minister Swan will agree, it is a unique relationship, the very close connection between Bermuda and Britain which goes back over history and of course having the same roots with the same beliefs in democracy and the rule of law and at the same time Bermuda's very close relationship with the United States, the United States and the United Kingdom being staunch defenders of liberty the world over and so this is a very unique position of these islands.
Premier Swan has asked me to come to Bermuda many times and I have not been able to take up his kind invitation until now and I am very glad to come and see Bermuda as well as the Summit discussions to which Prime Minister Swan has referred. I shall look around many things today and on Saturday morning with the Bermudan aspect in mind, always keeping the close British connection at the forefront [end p1]
We have talked of many things today. Because Prime Minister Swan has always kept me briefed. I knew very well the issues which concern Bermuda and he briefed me again right at the beginning of the meeting and brought me up-to-date on those.
Because we are both in this island and in the big islands of the British Isles passionate believers in democracy, he wanted me to give my views on what is happening in East-West Europe, the fundamental things happening there and how they will change the world because what happens there has repercussions the world over and we talked about that for quite a long time.
We also talked about democracy in Africa, including Southern Africa, and I gave my views and the reasons for them, which you know well and said that I think we are all optimistic since the meeting between Mr. Mandela and President de Klerk that things will begin to move more quickly towards negotiations.
We also talked about the things which affect the whole world, such as the environment, which knows no boundaries and, of course, Bermuda has just taken part in an International Drugs Conference in London because that too is a matter that affects us all and we have to try to eradicate that terrible traffic.
We started to talk about other things: the importance of education and the importance of keeping fundamental standards and values which is vital to democracy the world over, so many of the things which we discuss are very familiar ground. [end p2]
Here, the economy is based upon two things—tourism and the financial world. We have much a much broader economy in Britain but this is a very highly-skilled economy and if I might say so, a very well-run and prosperous country and I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister and the Government on the excellent state in which we find Bermuda and the very kind welcome we have had from the people.
Thank you very much, Prime Minister Swan, for your invitation; thank you for always keeping us very closely in touch with Bermuda and thank you for the warm welcome I have received (applause)