Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
In view of the Committee's ongoing interest
in our overseas network, I am writing to inform you that we have
taken the decision to transfer coverage of Equatorial Guinea from
our High Commission in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
We intend that the High Commissioner in Abuja
will be appointed as the UK's non-resident Ambassador to Equatorial
Guinea, and are seeking the necessary agrément. Day-to-day
responsibility and management will rest with the Deputy High Commission
in Lagos. They will provide consular services for British nationals
in Equatorial Guinea and offer a visa service to Equato-Guineans.
We expect this will take place in January 2006, but the exact
date will be dependent on agrément being granted.
We are making this change because the Deputy
High Commission in Abuja is a larger mission than Yaoundé
with greater resources and flexibility to devote to covering Equatorial
Guinea. It will also allow our mission in Yaoundé to engage
more effectively in the other countries in the region where we
do not have a resident mission, such as Chad
Sir Michael Jay KCMG
6 December 2005
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