The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 7 October 2023.
I am shocked by this morning’s attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens.
Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.
We’re in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice.
The speech made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in Manchester on 1 October 2023.
It’s been a year since I’ve been appointed.
And in that time, I have been on over sixty international visits,
Have hosted over one hundred inward events,
I have had over seven hundred meetings or calls with foreign representatives,
I’ve also had the honour of accompanying His Majesty The King on two state visits.
And my ministerial team has worked just as hard.
And so, if you’re wondering where they are at the moment during this speech – they’re out in the wider world, promoting Britain on the world stage.
And all those meetings, all those visits, all those calls, has allowed me to hear first-hand what the world thinks of us. As a result, my view of Britain’s standing in the world has never been clearer.
People want to see us.
People care about what we say.
People admire what we stand for.
But perhaps most importantly, people respect what we do.
Far from being left on the sidelines, we remain right at the heart of things.
And we should all be immensely proud of our country’s standing on the world stage.
And let me explain why.
And let me explain to the people who think Brexit has hindered us.
Let me spell it out to the people who think our best years are behind us.
Let me make it clear to those on the Labour benches who want to play politics and put our country down.
This government, with Rishi Sunak at the helm, takes decisive measures and is prepared to take the tough, long-term decisions for the benefit of our country.
And so, of course we send emergency rescue teams to Morocco, and to Turkey and Syria in response to those terrible earthquakes.
And of course, we evacuate Brits caught up in the Sudan conflict.
But we also sign Free Trade Agreements with countries around the globe,
And we lead by example in our unrelenting support for Ukraine and call out Russia for its heinous crimes.
And we sanction the brutal Iranian judges who target brave women campaigning for nothing more than their freedoms.
We have consistently helped the worst-off in the world lift themselves out of poverty,
We have consistently fought injustice wherever we see it,
And we have consistently led the way in times of international crisis.
Some people ask me when they talk to me, they say ‘James, that’s all well and good, but why does foreign affairs matter to the British people?
How does it help the people of Braintree or Belfast, or Banchory or Bridgend?’.
It helps because when we engage with our allies, old or new, we are safer, and we become more prosperous.
The PM gets it. Our party gets it. You get it.
Keir Starmer and his crowd don’t get it.
And over the last few years, of course we have seen incredibly tough global circumstances.
A global pandemic, and as my friend Grant just said, a brutal war on our own continent.
But because this Prime Minister was prepared to take the tough long-term decisions that we needed.
And we have thrived despite incredibly strong economic headwinds, powered by the pandemic and intensified by the war in Ukraine.
And because of his long-term decisions our economy is back to pre-pandemic levels and Britain has recovered quicker form that pandemic than Europe’s biggest economies.
Under this Prime Minister, we have made immense progress in very little time.
Under Starmer, Labour are all talk,
Under Sunak, we are about action.
As I say, in the relatively time Rishi has been Prime Minister, let us look at what we have achieved.
We agreed the Windsor Framework in February,
We agreed the AUKUS deal in March,
The Hiroshima Accord in May,
The Atlantic Declaration in June,
We’ve come to agreements with Europe that will grow our economy, stop the boats, and make us safer.
Conference, we should all be proud of our country and incredibly proud of we achieved in this short period of time .
And the Prime Minister’s leadership has allowed us to take full advantage of the bold decision we made in 2016.
Let me give you a few facts and figures just to prove the point.
Last year, service exports reached a record high.
Exports of goods and services grew by over 20% in current prices and are likely to increase again this year.
And we remain the second largest services exporter in the world – behind only the United States of America which, I may remind you, has five times as many people as us.
And today, nearly 60% of UK exports go to non-EU countries – and that is up from 52% in 2010. And the long-term economic trend is clear.
And it’s one we expect not just to continue but to intensify.
And that’s why – because we are looking at the future, because we are facing forward – we recently concluded negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership – easier to say than you might believe.
And, actually, it took me longer to say it than it did for us to join it.
That’s because we are focused on building our friendships, our forces, and our relationships with the Indo-Pacific region.
It’s why we are pushing to conclude a trade deal with India,
an economy forecast to double in size by 2030, overtaking Japan and Germany as the world’s third largest economy.
And it’s markets like these that are the future, and we recognise their value to us will grow enormously.
And while we have a global outlook, Labour can hardly imagine a world beyond Brussels.
The world has gotten used to engaging with a new, independent Britain –
To engaging with a Britain that is free to forge its own destiny,
Free to ratify its own law,
And free to negotiate its own trade deals.
And our newfound independence has enabled us to repeatedly get ahead of events.
Whether that’s with the manufacturing of lifesaving vaccines, which then gave us the ability to lift out of lockdowns,
Or whether it’s the sanctioning Russians involved in the illegal, brutal and disgusting conduct both domestically and abroad.
And yes – I am especially proud of our record when it comes to the support of the people of Ukraine.
We foresaw the extent and intensity of the price of the fight President Zelensky and his brave people faced in February 2022.
And I consider it a personal privilege to have done what I can to maximise support for that courageous country.
But never let anyone forget that for almost a decade now, every Conservative Prime Minister has backed Ukraine.
From training Ukrainian troops after the initial invasion of Crimea in 2014, to standing up to Putin over the poisonings in Salisbury.
From arming Ukrainians with the MLRS when Russia first initiated their full-scale invasion, to sanctioning Putin and his cronies who brutalise the Ukrainian people.
And Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has continued this unwavering support.
He was the first world leader to supply Ukraine with NATO tanks.
The first leader to train fast jet fighter pilots.
The first leader to supply long range missiles to support those fighting on the frontlines.
And earlier this year, Rishi Sunak hosted the landmark Ukrainian Recovery Conference in London, where we secured billions in international funding so that Ukraine will be able to rebuild once they win this war.
Whilst I occupy this great office, I have considered the many challenges we face as a nation and have contemplated the ways of making my department more effective at tackling those obstacles.
For example, when it comes to stopping the boats, we have and will continue to coordinate and cooperate not just within government, but with our allies as well.
We have collaborated with the governments of countries where these inhumane people-smuggling gangs are based.
But I recognise that we need to keep going.
Today, I have written to all of our ambassadors and high commissioners.
I have instructed every ambassador, to do even more to work with the countries in which they represent the UK to help stop the abhorrent trafficking of human lives across the English Channel.
Be in no doubt, our diplomats will redouble their efforts to bring about an end to this terrible, terrible injustice.
Now, I’m incredibly proud of the diplomats I work alongside – I have no doubt that they are the best in the world.
But I want to ensure that our diplomatic service is truly representative of the UK.
And unsurprisingly, I believe that those who have served our nation on the battlefield can continue to contribute beyond their tours of duty.
Which is why I have tasked my officials to carve out a space in our diplomatic service for veterans.
And I look forward to working with Johnny Mercer, our Veterans Minister, to ensure that the men and women from our armed forces – who we know are among the best of us – to give them the opportunity to be the best of us representing the UK.
And you’ll forgive me, but it does make me immensely proud to offer those who served our country with unparalleled distinction:
The opportunity to serve once again.
Speaking of service and pride, you will know that I served as the Chairman of this great party during the 2019 election.
I remember the doomsters and gloomsters predicting another hung parliament, they predicted an outright Conservative loss or a modest Conservative gain.
And those were the people whose amazing predictions predated the most significant electoral victory of recent times, and an 80-seat Conservative majority.
And today, I see the same old politicians making the same old tired predictions.
And when I look across the floor of the House of Commons, I see a group of spineless ditherers.
Devoid of answers to any of the challenges the world faces or that our country faces.
And yet, they are there – baying with disapproval at the tough but necessary decisions that governments have to make.
And where, I ask myself, is leadership from their leader?
Sir Keir can’t make up his mind on whether he supports leaving the EU or whether he supports remaining in the EU or rejoining the EU.
He pledged to cut tuition fees to get elected as Labour leader, and then went back on his promise as soon as he became Labour leader.
He resigned from Corbyn’s cabinet, then he rejoined Corbyn’s cabinet and campaigned to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister.
What we see is no clarity, no consistency, no policies, no plan – only the same old, tired, opportunistic politics.
Keir Starmer’s Labour Party doesn’t stand for anything.
And whilst Sir Keir and his comrades represent the tired politics of the past, the Prime Minister is prepared to do things differently.
And why?
Because the Conservative Party believes in Britain’s epic potential and the Labour Party is unwilling to take the tough decisions that will ensure the prosperity and the safety of this country for generations to come.
Conference, I can think of nothing more counterproductive than handing over the keys of government to a group of political chancers and visionless ideologues.
It is a scenario I refuse to entertain.
Because a party that does not believe in Britain cannot be trusted to lead it.
Only the Conservatives have a plan for the future.
Only Conservatives will take the tough decisions that will keep us safe and keep us prosperous.
Only the Conservatives will stand with pride on the world stage.
The statement made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, on 26 September 2023.
Thank you for convening this reinforced Permanent Council and for the strength of your leadership in these difficult circumstances. I welcome this discussion. The Euro-Atlantic region faces its greatest security challenge since 1945. The importance of the OSCE therefore cannot be overstated – not least as a forum to hold Russia to account and help Ukraine prevail. But it currently faces its greatest ever threat.
Like any organisation, the OSCE needs strong leadership and adequate resources to function. You and your team along with Secretary General Helga Schmid and the institution heads have provided leadership. And our flexible approach has so far provided the resources. But Russia’s insistence on blocking progress on institutional matters puts all of those things at risk. If Russia feels isolated, it is because it has isolated itself through its illegal war and through its blatant disregard for civilized norms of behaviour.
There is of course a way to fix this – Russia can change its approach, and we call on Russia to do so. Not to do so will imperil the existence of an organisation that has helped ensure peace and security for five decades. The organisation needs a budget, it needs effective leadership, and it needs a Chair.
The UK is grateful for Estonia’s offer to Chair in 2024. Estonia should know that it has our full support, as well as the support of most other members. We are also grateful to the Chair and the staff for providing options for managing the budget. But our ultimate aim is a properly functioning OSCE, no matter by which means. If Estonia’s candidacy does not secure consensus, we will support another state willing to Chair in line with the Helsinki principles. These are not normal times so we are willing to consider unorthodox options. If no alternative exists, the UK will support North Macedonia’s serving again or continuing as Chair. We applaud the exemplary leadership shown by the current four leaders in the OSCE under extremely difficult circumstances. The chances of us finding a consensus on replacements at this moment frankly are minimal. Let them then continue their work into 2024.
We should be here preparing for a Ministerial Council and discussing the important work the OSCE does for all our citizens. Instead, sadly, we are forced to focus on these procedural matters. So I ask those who would block progress, if you oppose Estonia’s candidacy, if you would block colleagues from remaining in post, if you would prevent agreement of an adequate budget – what then do you propose in its place? History will not judge those kindly those who undermine the important work of this organisation and its just causes.
Thank you.
The statement made by Will Quince, the Foreign Office Minister, on 25 September 2023.
No matter where in the world they’re born, everyone has a right to affordable, quality health care.
But every year, seeking health care pushes hundreds of millions of people into poverty. And millions more can’t get the care they deserve.
We cannot let this continue. We can do better.
That’s why today, we must reinvigorate our mission to achieve universal health coverage.
The UK proposes three key priorities.
First, we must focus our efforts on a primary health care approach.
The UK is committed to doing this by building global partnerships.
This includes working with like minded nations to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of universal health coverage. And rolling out life-changing vaccines, medicines, and technology in communities.
This week, we pledged up to £295 million for global research partnerships.
These partnerships will help forge the tools and evidence we need to make universal health coverage a reality. As well as addressing other key priorities like ending the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children, strengthening global health security, and tackling antimicrobial resistance.
Second, we must combat financial hardship.
This means Governments protecting the poorest in our societies from devastating health care fees.
We recognise many countries face serious financial challenges, limiting their ability to do this.
That’s why the UK is championing reforms to the international financial system to help developing countries access more finance to address their priorities. And achieving universal coverage must be at the heart of this work.
Third, we must strengthen the global workforce, the lifeblood of our health systems.
By 2030, there could be a global shortfall of ten million health workers. So, we must join forces to train, recruit, and retain more of these vital public servants.
That’s why this year, we launched the first-ever long-term workforce plan for the NHS. And announced a £15 million international investment package, working with our partners Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya to bolster their health workforces.
But this is just the beginning.
All our nations need to work together in a truly global partnership. We are stronger together than alone.
Only then can we deliver universal health coverage, and build a fairer, brighter, and healthier world.
So today, let’s roll up our sleeves and get on with the job.
Thank you.
The statement made by Andrew Mitchell, the Foreign Office Minister, on 20 September 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest challenge of our lifetime.
The international response was punctuated with many high points of cooperation, and some low points of isolationism. We need to do better so that we are prepared for the next crisis.
That means two things.
First, we must provide help to lower and middle income countries so they’re better able to withstand health threats.
The UK is committed to doing what it can to help strengthen health systems — they are the bedrock of effective pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
To boost collaboration on research and development, including clinical trials and data sharing.
To help to improve coordination across the human, animal and environmental health sectors.
And to work with partners to ensure that safe and effective vaccines, medicines and tests are available during pandemics to all who need them, when they need them.
Today, the UK is announcing over £370 million to strengthen global health security.
This will help tackle deadly diseases in Africa, expand the UK Vaccine Network programme, and establish research and technical partnerships in Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
Second, we must improve multilateral co-operation. Central to this are the negotiations in Geneva on a new Pandemic Accord and agreeing measures to improve pandemic prevention, preparedness and response whilst respecting national sovereignty.
We must also reform the international financial institutions to release more finance to lower- and middle-income countries — an agenda the UK is championing. And it means investing in the Pandemic Fund and other funds to strengthen preparedness. As well as ensuring that when the next pandemic strikes, faster funding is available.
We face an important moment. We must reflect on the lessons learnt from COVID-19 and work together to protect future generations from the catastrophic impacts of pandemics. They will rightly not forgive us should we fail.
Thank you.
The statement made by Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, on 19 September 2023.
Your Excellencies. It is half time on the SDGs, and our collective promise is in peril.
The UK was instrumental in developing Agenda 2030 and its SDGs.
Today we recommit to them – and to reforming the international financial system that will play such a big role in helping us deliver them.
We are driving reforms of the Multilateral Development Banks including stretching their balance sheets to release over $200bn of additional finance over the next ten years.
To support this, the UK is announcing two innovative guarantees to scale up MDB lending one to unlock $1 billion in education financing and one to unlock up to $1.8 billion of climate finance for Asia-Pacific countries.
I also reiterate our support for a bigger and better World Bank, which increases voice and
representation of the poorest and most vulnerable.
We support reforms to make the MDBs more agile, more shock responsive and better able to mobilise more private investment.
We encourage MDBs and all other creditors to offer Climate Resilient Debt Clauses – pioneered by the UK – to pause debt repayments when disaster strikes.
We will continue to mobilise billions through British Investment Partnerships for energy transitions and infrastructure –$40 billion by 2027 and we will support countries to collect taxes owed to them to invest in their development, with a new £17 million package of support.
We must of course meet our global climate finance goals which is why at the G20, the Prime Minister announced $2 billion for the Green Climate Fund the biggest single commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change.
We must maintain the spirit of partnership that created the SDGs as we ensure the financing and investment to deliver them.
We will do that through UK-hosted Summits on Food Security, AI, and Investment in Africa keeping up momentum through the autumn, into 2024, and all the way to 2030.
Thank you.
The speech made by Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, on 23 September 2023.
Mr President,
As we meet here this evening millions of people in Morocco and Libya continue to struggle with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and catastrophic flood.
Let me extend the sympathy of the British people to all those who have lost loved ones.
Our search and rescue teams have been deployed in Morocco and we have increased our humanitarian support for Libya.
We will continue our support – alongside many other nations represented here in the weeks and months to come.
This week, nations have gathered here to recommit to addressing the biggest challenges we face.
Climate change, with catastrophic weather events telling us to act, now.
The Sustainable Development Goals… and how to get them back on track after Covid.
Migration, with millions crossing borders and dangerous seas, at the mercy of human traffickers.
And Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine… an attack on a sovereign member of the United Nations by a Permanent Member of its Security Council.
The most heinous assault imaginable on everything this organisation stands for, and was founded to prevent.
With consequences felt not just by the brave people of Ukraine, but by millions more across the globe.
Those hit by food shortages – particularly in developing countries – are Putin’s victims too.
Russia could end this war tomorrow. Putin could end this war tomorrow. That is what the world demands.
But until that happens, the United Kingdom will stand alongside Ukraine.
Whatever it takes.
For weeks, for months – if necessary, for years.
Because if these United Nations – in which the United Kingdom believes, and helped to found – are to count for anything, it is surely for the cardinal principle that aggression cannot, and must not pay.
These are the issues of the moment.
But I want to focus on another challenge.
A challenge that is already with us today, and which is changing – right now – all of our tomorrows.
It is going to change everything we do – education, business, healthcare, defence – the way we live.
And it is going to change government – and relations between nations – fundamentally.
It is going to change this United Nations, fundamentally.
Artificial Intelligence – the biggest transformation the world has known.
Our task as governments is to understand it, grasp it, and seek to govern it.
And we must do so at speed.
Think how much has changed in a few short months.
And then think how different this world will look in five years or ten years’ time.
We are fast becoming familiar with the AI of today, but we need to prepare for the AI of tomorrow.
At this frontier, we need to accept that we simply do not know the bounds of possibilities.
We are as Edison before the light came on, or as Tim Berners-Lee before the first email was sent.
They could not – surely – have respectively envisaged the illumination of the New York skyline at night, or the wonders of the modern internet.
But they suspected the transformative power of their inventions.
Frontier AI, with the capacity to process the entirety of human knowledge in
Seconds, has the potential not just to transform our lives, but to reimagine our understanding of science.
If – like me – you believe that humans are on the path to decoding the mysteries of the smallest particles, or the farthest reaches of our universe, if you think that the Millenium Prize Problems are ultimately solvable, or that we will eventually fully understand viruses, then you will surely agree that by adding to the sum total of our intelligence at potentially dizzying scales.
Frontier AI will unlock at least some of those answers on an expedited timetable in our lifetimes.
Because in AI time, years are days even hours.
The “frontier” is not as far as we might assume.
That brings with it great opportunities.
The AI models being developed today could deliver the energy efficiency needed to beat climate change, stimulate the crop yields required to feed the world, detect signs of chronic diseases or pandemics, better manage supply chains so everyone has access to the materials and goods they need, and enhance productivity in both business and governments.
In fact, every single challenge discussed at this year’s General Assembly – and more – could be improved or even solved by AI.
Perhaps the most exciting thing is that AI can be a democratising tool, open to everyone.
Just as we have seen digital adoption sweep across the developing world, AI has the potential to empower millions of people in every part of our planet, giving everyone, wherever they are, the ability to be part of this revolution.
AI can and should be a tool for all.
Yet any technology that can be used by all can also be used for ill.
We have already seen the dangers AI can pose: teens hacking individuals’ bank details; terrorists targeting government systems; cyber criminals duping voters with deep-fakes and bots; even states suppressing their peoples.
But our focus on the risks has to include the potential of agentic frontier AI, which at once surpasses our collective intelligence, and defies our understanding.
Indeed, many argue that this technology is like no other, in the sense that its creators themselves don’t even know how it works.
They can’t explain why it does what it does, they cannot predict what it will – or will not – do.
The principal risks of frontier AI will therefore come from misuse, misadventure, or misalignment with human objectives.
Our efforts need to preempt all of these possibilities – and to come together to agree a shared understanding of those risks.
This is what the AI Safety Summit that the United Kingdom is hosting in November will seek to achieve.
Despite the entreaties we saw from some experts earlier in the year, I do not believe we can hold back the tide.
There is no future in which this technology does not develop at an extraordinary pace.
And although I applaud leading companies’ efforts to put safety at the heart of their development, and for their voluntary commitments that provide guardrails against unsafe deployment, the starting gun has been fired on a globally competitive race in which individual companies as well as countries will strive to push the boundaries as far and fast as possible.
Indeed, the stated aim of these companies is to build superintelligence.
AI that strives to surpass human intelligence in every possible way.
Some of the people working on this think it is just a few years away.
The question for governments is how we respond to that.
The speed and scale demands leaders are clear-eyed about the implications and potential.
We cannot afford to become trapped in debates about whether AI is a tool for good or a tool for ill; it will be a tool for both.
We must prepare for both and insure against the latter.
The international community must devote its response equally to the opportunities and the risks – and do so with both vigour and enthusiasm.
In the past, leaders have responded to scientific and technological developments with retrospective regulation.
But in this instance the necessary guardrails, regulation and governance must be developed in a parallel process with the technological progress.
Yet, at the moment, global regulation is falling behind current advances.
Lawmakers must draw in everyone – developers, experts, academics – to understand in advance the sort of opportunities and risks that might be presented.
We must be frontier governments alongside the frontier innovators.
The United Kingdom is determined to be in the vanguard, working with like-minded allies in the United Nations and through the Hiroshima G7 process, the Global Partnership on AI, and the OECD.
Ours is a country which is uniquely placed.
We have the frontier technology companies.
We have world-leading universities.
And we have some of the highest investment in generative AI.
And, of course, we have the heritage of the Industrial Revolution and the computing revolution.
This hinterland gives us the grounding to make AI a success, and make it safe.
They are two sides of the same coin, and our Prime Minister has put AI safety at the forefront of his ambitions.
We recognise that while, of course, every nation will want to protect its own interests and strategic advantage, the most important actions we will take will be international.
In fact, because tech companies and non-state actors often have country-sized influence and prominence in AI, this challenge requires a new form of multilateralism.
Because it is only by working together that we will make AI safe for everyone.
Our first ever AI Safety Summit in November will kick-start this process with a focus on frontier technology.
In particular, we want to look at the most serious possible risks such as the potential to undermine biosecurity, or increase the ability of people to carry out cyber attacks, as well as the danger of losing control of the machines themselves.
For those that would say that these warnings are sensationalist, or belong in the realm of science-fiction, I simply point to the words of hundreds of AI developers, experts and academics, who have said – and I quote:
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
I do not stand here claiming to be an expert on AI, but I do believe that policy-makers and Governments ignore this expert consensus at the peril of all of our citizens.
Our Summit will aim to reach a common understanding of these most extreme risks, and how the world should confront them. And at the same time, focus on how safe AI can be used for public good.
The speed of this progress demands this is not a one-off, or even an annual gathering.
New breakthroughs are happening daily, and we need to convene more regularly.
Moreover, it is essential that we bring governments together with the best academics and researchers to be able to evaluate the technologies.
Tech companies must not mark their own homework, just as governments and citizens must have confidence that risks are properly mitigated.
Indeed, a large part of this work should be about ensuring faith in the system, and it is only nation states that can provide the most significant national security concern reassurance that has been allayed.
That is why I am so proud that the United Kingdom’s world-leading Frontier AI Taskforce has brought together pioneering experts like Yoshua Bengio and Paul Christiano, with the head of GCHQ and our National Security Advisers.
It is the first body of its kind in the world that is developing the capacity to conduct the safe external red-teaming that will be critical to building confidence in frontier models.
And our ambition is for the Taskforce to evolve to become a permanent institutional structure, with an international offer.
Building this capacity in liberal, democratic countries is important.
Many world-beating technologies were developed in nations where expression flows openly and ideas are exchanged freely.
A culture of rules and transparency is essential to creativity and innovation, and it is just as essential to making AI safe.
So that, ladies and gentlemen, is the task that confronts us.
It is – in its speed, and its scale, and its potential – unlike anything we – or our predecessors – have known before.
Exciting.
Daunting.
Inexorable.
So now we must work – alongside its pioneers – to understand it, to govern it, to harness its potential, and to contain its risks.
We will have to be pioneers too.
We may not know where the risks lie, how we might contain them, or even the fora in which we must determine them.
What we do know, however, is that the most powerful action will come when nations work together.
The AI revolution will be a bracing test for the multilateral system, to show that it can work together on a question that will help to define the fate of humanity.
Our future – humanity’s future – our entire planet’s future, depends on our ability to do so.
That is our challenge, and this is our opportunity.
To be – truly – the United Nations.
The speech made by Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, in New York, the United States, on 20 September 2023.
Thank you, President.
I am proud to sit here today in solidarity with President Zelenskyy. He and the Ukrainian people have met Russia’s invasion of their country with bravery, and with courage. I pay tribute to their fortitude.
Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression is not only a fight for freedom, it is also a fight for the principles upon which the United Nations itself is based, principles underpinned by our Charter which says that all States’ sovereignty is equal, that territorial integrity is inviolable, that disputes should be settled peacefully and that we must protect those things together.
When Russia’s tanks rolled into Ukraine they trampled over every one of those principles. They have done so ever since. Every missile, every bomb, every false arrest, every piece of propaganda has been a flagrant assault, not only on freedom, but on our multilateral rules-based system.
If we allow Russia to lay waste to what we have built here, the risks to world order, the risks to us all, are grave.
For over a year and a half, Ukraine has been suffering the terrible consequences of Russia’s war of choice. We must never forget the human cost. 9,500 people killed. 17,000 people injured. Reports of 500,000 military casualties on both sides.
Russia has callously targeted schools, hospitals, even playgrounds. Ukrainians have been tortured, they have been raped. Men, women, and thousands of children have been forcibly deported from their homes.
And the devastation flows beyond Ukraine’s borders. Thanks to their destruction of thousands of tonnes of grain, the hungry and malnourished people of the developing world are Russia’s victims too. That is why the United Kingdom will contribute a further £3 million to the World Food Programme to continue President Zelenskyy’s ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative.
Of course, the only end to this widespread suffering is through a just and lasting peace. Ukraine has demonstrated their commitment to peace time again and again including in Copenhagen and Jeddah this summer. But they have also shown on the battlefield this summer that they are capable of restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity that must be the foundations of any peace.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive has put Russia under pressure. In total, Ukraine has regained 50 per cent of the territory seized since the war began and in Kharkiv and Kherson, the yellow and blue flag flies high once again. That flag flies throughout the rest of the world, reflecting the solidarity we feel to Ukraine. Yet we might wonder what difference does this support make when Russia seems so impervious to UN demands?
When it seeks to fuel its aims with arms from sanctioned states such as Iran and the DPRK and when it conducts sham elections in Ukraine’s sovereign territory? The truth is this: Russia knows the power of collective action because it tries so hard to weaken and divide the international community.
So, just as we need to confront our biggest challenges on global poverty, on climate change, on artificial intelligence collectively, we need effective multilateralism to achieve resolution. To seek justice for the many, many victims. To rebuild ruined cities and create new opportunities. To get grain exports flowing again. To help put Ukraine back on the path to prosperity. To secure peace.
And that is what we shall do, together.
Thank you, Mr President.
The speech made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in New York on 19 September 2023.
Mike thank you very much and thank you for hosting me today and thank you all for coming.
I was about to say I’ve done a bit of research but I don’t think it’s good starting a speech with an outright lie, so I’ll be a bit more honest. Members of my team have done a bit of research and I discover, because they’ve written it down here for me that the origins of the council lie in meetings between Brits and Americans in the aftermath of the First World War. And the conversation between our two countries has been a longstanding one and the work of this institution, the thinking about international relations is unsurprisingly as relevant today as it was back then.
Those meetings occurred in one of those pivot points in history and as someone who I regard not only as an important interlocutor but increasingly someone that I regard as a friend, Tony Blinken reminded us in a speech that he gave last week, we too are living through a pivotal moment because we’re at the nexus of interconnected challenges.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not necessarily a trial of strength as the work that our two nations did through conflicts in the first and second world war but is absolutely a trial of our resolve – and the point that I have made, and the point that I will make here today and will continue to make is that the world is watching. Our resolve is being tested and we are being observed. You can applaud at any point you fancy.
Now that is not of course the only area where our resolve is being tested.
Our willingness to address issues such as climate change, how to deal with new technologies such as AI, all these things are testing our ingenuity and testing our resolve and today at the UN, this week at the UN we are reminded sadly that we are way behind schedule on the delivery against our Sustainable Development Goals.
And after the economic dislocation of the pandemic and of the war in Ukraine, I think citizens here in the US, certainly in the UK and more widely across the world are asking their governments what are you doing about it, what are you doing to act on our behalf.
Mike you’re a former US Trade Representative, a voice on the international stage and I suspect that you like me and indeed many of you in the room will understand that there is no real boundary between foreign policy and domestic policy and the idea that there is, is completely artificial but I think that it is now incumbent upon us that we pay more attention to the interrelationship between international policy and domestic policy.
Last week, Tony Blinken spoke about having a fully integrated domestic and foreign policy.
And my Prime Minister and the government he leads are also absolutely determined to address the principle concerns of our citizens, which they tell us loud and clear are about addressing illegal migration and economic growth. Those superficially appear to be domestic issues but of course as soon as you look at them in any kind of detail it becomes clear they can only be resolved through international engagement.
So that is why we are intensifying collaboration with the countries on international illegal transit routes, migrant transit routes, as well as the countries from whom people are fleeing.
We are working with international partners to break the business model of those evil people smugglers and we are deepening our economic ties with countries around the world to try and dissuade people from moving to try and remove the drivers of that migration. And I know that migration is an increasingly sensitive political issue here in the US and it is also a sensitive political issue in a number of other countries across Europe and beyond.
What this reminds me of is the need to strengthen our traditional alliances and also to build additional ones. In terms of strengthening our pre-existing alliances I’m very pleased that Prime Minister Sunak and President Biden signed the Atlantic declaration earlier this year, it’s about reinforcing one of our strongest friendships in the world, it forms part of a continuum of close working relationship, it’s the first Atlantic charter signed by Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt, whatever happened to those guys did they make it in the world? I don’t remember, but it is part of a longstanding friendship and it has reminded us once again in a time of conflict in the European continent how important our bilateral relationship is.
Whilst we look at the horrors that are being perpetrated against the Ukrainian people by the Russian armed forces, we are reminded that once again at a time of need, the United States of America and the United Kingdom and others of course, have really stepped forward and are playing a leading part, once again in defending democracy and freedom.
The US is the leading supplier of military aid to Ukraine and I pay tribute to your nation’s generosity. And the Ukrainians are making the most of their support. And I know sometimes there’s frustration with the pace of their counter-offensive, I’ve had military briefings, and whilst I don’t want to bore you with the details, the Russian occupying forces have spent a huge amount of time and effort fortifying the whole of that southern part of Ukraine, meaning that any advance would inevitably need to be both slow and methodical. But the support of the US, the support of the UK the support of other nations around the world, both NATO members and further afield has made a difference.
It gave the Ukrainians a fighting chance at the beginning of this conflict. Those depth strike capabilities, those long range missiles that the UK and others are now providing are enabling the Ukrainians to target logistics hubs, communications hubs, command control hubs giving them the ability to methodically push back against Russia.
Putin believed that he could outlast Ukraine and outlast Ukraine’s friends around the world. He was wrong. Because time is not on Russia’s side. Some brutal statistics.
Russia has suffered many times more fatalities in combat in just over eighteen months than the Soviets did during their 10 years in Afghanistan. That level is unsustainable.
As we saw Prigozhin and the Wagner Group with their attempted mutiny, cracks are appearing, and again I quote Tony Blinken, cracks are appearing in the Russian system and the longer this conflict persists the longer those cracks will work their way through the system. Putin is scared of a mass mobilisation.
His circle of friends both in Russia and internationally is shrinking.
Last year, only four countries defended Russia in a UN General Assembly vote on Ukraine.
And whilst the world’s largest economies met last week in New Delhi, he was finalising his plans in a solitary summit with an impoverished dictator.
That is the damage that Putin’s poor decision making has done to his own country.
And so, the lesson I take from that is that we need to maintain our resolve. Putin’s calculation was that he could outlast us. We have to prove him wrong. And we have to prove him wrong not just to ensure that the conflict in Ukraine has a proper and good resolution where the Ukrainians get their country back, but because every current dictator and would be dictator and future potentate will look at how we respond to this challenge and they will factor that into their calculations about future actions.
So we need to send the message loud and clear that we have the resolve, we have the strategic patience, that we will do the right thing until this is resolved. Because if we do not then we will invite further aggression which we will then inevitably have to deal with at some point in the future.
Ukraine will not give up. The UK will not abandon them. And we will continue to advocate for the international community to lend them their support.
Now, obviously Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not the only issue that we have to discuss. There are many, many challenges on the world stage.
I’ve recently returned from a trip to Beijing, where I spoke with the Chinese government about areas where we have deep, deep disagreements. For example, their treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang, their failure to abide by commitments freely entered into over Hong Kong, their aggressive posture across the Taiwan Strait.
But, of course, I also engage with them on some of the issues that are important to all of us: the economic recovery, post conference, how we make sure that we benefit from AI, and that we address the challenges and potential dangers of that technology. And so we don’t have the luxury of dealing with only one challenge or one situation at a time. We have to look holistically. The United Kingdom has always been a globally focused country. We enjoy good working relationships with the United States, as I’ve already said, and our other friends in the Americas, our European friends and colleagues, but also we have enhanced our focus on the Indo Pacific region, where of course we have long standing friendships and we intend to enhance those.
So to give myself some time to answer your questions, I will summarize by saying that the challenges the world presents us are legion. But we do have the opportunity to make positive progress. We do have the opportunity to get the Sustainable Development Goals back on track.
It is going to mean that we work with our traditional friends and allies, but it also means that we have to give voice to the emerging powers in the world. The UK has encouraged an expansion of the United Nations Security Council for example, we believe that India, Brazil, Germany, Japan should have permanent membership, and Africa really deserves a louder voice on the world stage.
We think there needs to be change, evolution, and modernization of the international financial system so that we can apply the really big bucks held in the private sector to some of the challenges that we need to address. My Prime Minister has recently announced to the G20 a $2 billion commitment from UK to the Green Climate Fund to reinforce the value that we place on the natural world and the future of our children.
So there are plenty of things that we can discuss. I throw myself open to questions from the floor. You can ask me anything you like. There are three caveats. There are some things that I don’t know. You probably find that hard to believe, but nevertheless, it’s true. There are some things that I do know that I’m not going to tell you about. And other than that, I am quite willing to answer questions on any subject that either I’ve covered here that are maybe in your heads.
The speech made by Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, in Italy on 14 September 2023.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the risk of derailing what The Economist has rightly called the ‘blossoming’ relationship between the United Kingdom and Italy, perhaps you’ll permit me to say:
Vorrei ringraziare tutti voi di essere qui stasera, in questa bellissima citta, in questa antica e famosa universita.
Grazie di cuore.
Thank you to the Rector, for welcoming us to this fine seat of learning.
Thank you Mayor, for your very warm welcome to your wonderful city, which is so beloved of my fellow Brits.
Thank you to Lord Willetts and Carlo Calenda, for your leadership of Pontignano… and for all you do to nurture the close friendship between our nations.
And thank you – above all – to all of you for being here.
You all believe in the importance of this relationship between the United Kingdom and Italy.
Important, not just because of our friendship, culture and our long shared history.
But because you are strong believers in how much more we can achieve together as modern European nations facing the same challenges:
from supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom
to confronting economic and energy security challenges
to tackling illegal migration.
And you know that to succeed, we must address them together.
The number of my colleagues attending this conference demonstrates that this is certainly the view of the British Government.
(Although it would perhaps be an exaggeration to say that they took a lot of persuading to come to Siena!).
Their presence is a testament to the United Kingdom’s determination to drive forward a new strategic partnership between London and Rome.
Now our topic for this year’s Pontignano is ‘Adapting to technological change’.
But before I say a few words on that, let me take a step back and look at our relationship with Italy – to take stock, as diplomats like to say.
A turning point.
My counterpart, Antonio Tajani, said at the start of the year that relations between the UK and Italy were ‘at a turning point.’
And he was right.
Look at the situation that confronts us:
war in Europe
threats to our energy and our food supplies
climate change
irregular migration, across the Mediterranean and the Channel.
And all of it underpinned by the onward march of technology.
Set against that backdrop, it is surely no wonder that our two countries – sharing so many interests whose strengths complement each other in so many ways – should seize this moment to work more closely together.
And that is exactly what we are doing.
A longstanding friendship.
We are, of course, building on a very strong foundation.
The ties between our peoples go back centuries – indeed all the way back to ancient Rome and through the Renaissance.
More recently – 80 years ago, British Forces landed at Salerno, as part of their central role in the liberation of this country.
And next year we will mark the 80th anniversary of Anzio and Monte Cassino.
Today, the bonds between us are thriving and vibrant.
And there is also a mutual respect and affection between our peoples – epitomised in Italians’ moving reaction to the death of our late Queen a year ago.
And your enthusiasm at the Coronation of King Charles III earlier this year.
Indeed our new Monarch loves Italy, as he himself told an Italian television crew in the Mall the night before he was crowned.
So there is a rich tapestry of ties between us. And that vibrant partnership is an invaluable source of strength, as we face together the most challenging set of circumstances in many decades.
Until recently, perhaps the defining political moment of my generation was the 9th November 1989 – the date that the Berlin Wall came down and liberty rolled across our continent.
Now a new date is inscribed in our memories.
The 24th February 2022 – the date Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine and its missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities.
The events of that day, and every day since, have reminded us of some old truths.
The need for strong defence to deter war.
The need to stand up to aggression today, or risk greater aggression tomorrow.
The need for friends and allies to stick together and stand up for what we believe in.
Every day since the invasion, that is exactly what the United Kingdom and Italy have done – as G7 partners and leading members of NATO.
Let me pay tribute to Italy’s response.
You have been at Kyiv’s side every step of the way.
And I am proud of the role that Britain has played and will continue to play, for as long as it takes.
If anyone doubted Britain’s enduring commitment to European security, you have your answer, not just in our words, but in our actions.
And as we sit here tonight, in this cradle of European civilisation, let us spare a thought for the people of Ukraine, a fellow European country, who face another night in bomb shelters or on the front line.
Forging a new relationship between the UK and Italy – real momentum…
It is not just on Ukraine, however, that cooperation has been galvanised between our two countries.
There is a real determination to make this relationship between Britain and Italy count for more, to be more than the sum of its parts.
Take a look at the last nine months:
In December our Prime Ministers signed – with their Japanese counterpart – the Global Combat Air Programme to build a new generation of combat aircraft together.
In February, our Defence and Trade Secretaries signed agreements forging ever closer relations.
And then in April, our Prime Minister was delighted to welcome PM Meloni to Downing Street where they signed an ambitious Memorandum of Understanding – covering issues from national security to cultural ties.
The agreement also covered another subject on which our countries share the same challenge: illegal migration.
This is a challenge that is political, societal, criminal.
Our electorates demand that we deal with it, and we must.
We both share the same sense of urgency – and albeit at different ends of Europe, we are facing the same phenomenon:
Large numbers of arrivals by sea.
Unscrupulous traffickers in human lives.
The death traps into which they place innocent women and children.
The tragedies in the dark waters off the Channel, off Lampedusa or the Calabrian coast.
So we are significantly expanding our cooperation together.
Working together in bodies such as the G7 and the Council of Europe.
Adapting to technological change.
In so doing, we will, of course, be taking advantage at every opportunity of new technologies – the theme of this Pontignano.
I am delighted that British scientists will once again be able to collaborate with those in Italy and across Europe as part of the Horizon programme.
And, as a Minister from the country that invented the steam engine, speaking in the land of Marconi, I know how well both our countries know the revolutionary power of technology.
And the list of technologies that have fundamentally altered the course of human history is relatively short: fire, metals, the printing press, the combustion engine, electricity, fission, the internet.
All of these tools have been bent to achieve a step-change in the pace of human progress.
And now I believe that we are on the cusp of another such inflection point, one that has the potential to make the pace of progress supersonic:
Artificial Intelligence, or more specifically, the advent of artificial general intelligence, represents, at once the most exciting and the most daunting challenge of our age.
Exciting, because there is an opportunity, as our PM has put it, for human progress that could surpass the industrial revolution in both speed and depth.
For game-changing innovations in all aspects of our lives:
unthinkable advances in medicine
cures for cancer and dementia
growing crops to feed the world…
or solving climate change.
But also daunting.
Not only will AI expedite and intensify the existing threat landscape,
in Artificial General Intelligence, humans face the potential of a technology that surpasses both the capability of our collective endeavour, and the limits of our understanding.
We have to accept that the answer to many of our questions about the AI frontier will be ‘we don’t yet know’.
We do not yet know what these machines might be capable of.
What we do know is that, to date, the limits of human progress have been capped by the sum of our collective intelligence.
By adding to that sum with AI – at potentially dizzying scales – we will redraw the bounds of what we previously thought possible.
But, as scary – and exciting – as that is,
it should not be a barrier to our exploration.
But it does mean that we need a new approach to regulation.
One that iterates to build faith in the systems that will come to underpin so many aspects of our lives.
This approach will involve active and ongoing collaboration between Governments, Al labs and academics, amongst others.
Many organisations outside of national Governments, in particular private companies – including those in Italy – have been pivotal to the most recent advances in AI.
I know that many such companies are taking part in Pontignano this year.
And these collaborations will be crucial to ensure the safe and reliable development and deployment of frontier AI throughout the world.
The United Kingdom is acutely aware of the importance of this moment – and of the need to act swiftly and with resolve.
Domestically, the Prime Minister has asked me to chair a Resilience sub-committee of the National Security Council, which will be taking a methodical approach to assessing the risks of AI.
And internationally, our forthcoming AI Summit at Bletchley Park in November will aim to agree how we can collaborate on frontier AI safety:
to agree a shared assessment of the frontier risks
as well as share some of the best examples from around the world of how AI is being used to improve lives.
Already, the UK has been working with industry leaders such as Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic, who will give us unprecedented access to their products and models.
So that we can mitigate against the risks, and take advantage of the opportunities.
The importance of their cooperation cannot be overstated.
We need them to ensure that our frontier systems are aligned with human objectives.
And we need them to ensure that they are deployed safely,
Because – ultimately – we need end users to have confidence in these transformative tools.
The Summit is an important forum to begin to address these questions.
But it is only one of the first steps in a very long journey.
We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Italian Government and across the world.
Together we have a huge stake – for our countries, as for the sake of humanity.
So my message is a simple one: it is vital that we work together to make AI safe.
I look forward to discussing this collaboration with you at this conference.
And to our colleagues in the Italian Government.
Let me say that the United Kingdom sees Italy as a crucial partner in helping us to achieve this goal.
We look forward to working very closely with you on this, and on other shared priorities, from migration to economic security to climate, as you assume the Presidency of the G7 next year.
So, there is plenty here for this year’s Pontignano to discuss.
This medieval city is famed – not just for its beauty – but for its enduring identity, its spirit and its character through the centuries.
Famous too for Lorenzetti’s 14th century frescos at the Palazzo Publicco – not far from here – depicting the tenets of good government, and the consequences of bad government.
So this is an ideal and inspiring place for such discussions – a city which has long stood for humanity’s ability to solve apparently intractable problems.
A city which centuries ago understood the importance of developing a legal and political framework by which society can be governed in the best interests of the wider community.
I like to think that if Ambrogio Lorenzetti were here today, he might recognise some of the dilemmas modern democracies are wrestling with as we seek the right way forward.
A few hundred metres from here, there is the famous pavement in the Duomo – the intricate work of artisans here in Siena many centuries ago.
At the other end of Europe, in London, there is another pavement – the famous Cosmati pavement, laid by British and Italian craftsmen in Westminster Abbey in 1268.
One of the earliest examples of what Britons and Italians can achieve together when they put their minds to it.
It was on precisely that pavement, watched by the entire world, that our new Sovereign was crowned in May.
Let that be the spirit in which we embark on this Pontignano, and usher in a new chapter of British-Italian endeavour for the good of both our nations, of Europe and for the good of the world.