A forum and symposium to explore issues concerning Britain’s vote to pull out of the European Union (EU) will take place today at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

The forum, headlined ‘Brexit: Implications for the Caribbean’, is being hosted by the Office of the Vice Chancellor in collaboration with the university’s Department of Economics, and the Caribbean Policy Research Institute. The discussions will be centred on how Britain’s exit, termed Brexit, might impact Jamaica and other Caribbean states that have historically enjoyed a maternalistic relationship with Britain resulting in considerable economic benefits through EU grants, loans and programmes.

The forum will be addressed by Sir Hilary Beckles, UWI vice chancellor, ahead of a panel discussion, including former prime minister and chair of the Caricom (Caribbean Community) Review Commission Bruce Golding; British High Commissioner to Jamaica David Fitton; and Dana Dixon, business development and research executive at Jamaica National Building Society.

An academic symposium which will follow the forum will discuss issues such as: ‘The Global Fallout’; ‘Caribbean Consequences’, and ‘Socio-political Significance’. Speakers will include Ambassador Richard Bernal of the Inter-American Development Bank; James Moss Solomon, UWI, Mona; David Jessop, Caribbean Council; and Professor Brian Meeks of Brown University in the United States.