Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has called on the United Kingdom to increase its quota of scholarships offered to students in Grenada and the rest of the Caribbean. Mitchell, an advocate of education, made the appeal during a meeting with Janet Douglas, the United Kingdom’s new high commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, on Friday. Douglas was paying a courtesy call on the Grenadian leader after taking up her new position seven weeks ago. Mitchell said Britain’s assistance in bolstering its quota of scholarships to the region is particularly important in light of that country’s shifting immigration policy. “So many regional leaders studied in the British system, so we should not lose that connection,” Mitchell told Britain’s top diplomat in the region, who is based in Barbados. “Especially now that UK's immigration policies are shifting and it is becoming more and more difficult for students to access UK education”. The new high commissioner conceded that Britain was losing out to countries like China which have been increasing scholarships to Caribbean students. She promised to push the scholarship agenda while referencing Britain’s Chevening Scholarship to the region which she agreed was not sufficient. Mitchell welcomed the high commissioner and her delegation and expressed his thanks to the British for their support in several areas, especially recently, in the Caribbean Infrastructure Fund The new high commissioner will be in Grenada for the opening of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government summit on Tuesday evening along with other regional diplomats. She said the UK aims to reconnect and re-energize the relationship that former British prime minister David Cameron started through the Caribbean Infrastructure Fund. Douglas stated one of the main objectives for her four-year tenure is to ensure that Britain's exit from the European Union (Brexit) is done in a way that will not have negative impact on trade and development relations with the Caribbean. She stated that she met with Irwin LaRoque, secretary general of CARICOM recently and the engagements will continue as the region and UK navigate the development agenda. Source: Caribbean News Now