Economic and passport issues were part of “fruitful” discussions held over three days at the UK’s yearly Joint Ministerial Council meetings, Premier Craig Cannonier said last night.

Mr Cannonier joined talks in London on the British Overseas Territories with Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy and Finance Minister Bob Richards.

Overseas Territories Minister Mark Simmonds chaired the talks, which ran from Monday until yesterday. Financial services regulatory regimes were discussed, and Senator Fahy called for clarity on delivery times of passports — as well as guarantees that Bermudians would have access to emergency passports, in light of the planned move for Overseas Territory passports to be printed in the UK.

Mr Richards also laid out the Island’s position on Islamic finance and relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, an economic union of Arab states in the Persian Gulf region.