ABU DHABI // The British and Canadian embassies will not merge, the British ambassador said yesterday.
“We have no plans to change our current diplomatic footprint in the UAE,” Dominic Jermey said.
Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, announced last month that some of the two countries’ overseas missions would share the same building and work together in certain areas.
“As the prime minister said when addressing the Canadian parliament last year, ‘We are two nations, but under one Queen and united by one set of values’,” Mr Hague said. “We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder from the great wars of the last century to fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and supporting Arab Spring nations like Libya and Syria. We are first cousins.”
Mr Hague said it was natural to look into linking the embassies where it would suit both countries.
“It will give us a bigger reach abroad for our businesses and people for less cost,” he said.
The Canadian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
osalem@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
