The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 3 May 2021.
The terrible images we have seen in India in recent weeks are all the more powerful because of the close and enduring connection between the people of the UK and India.
I am deeply moved by the surge of support the British people have provided to the people of India and am pleased the UK Government has been able to play our part in providing life-saving assistance.
The UK will always be there for India in its time of need.
The statement made by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, on 3 May 2021.
Good afternoon everyone – thank you for joining us. It is a huge pleasure to welcome Secretary of State Blinken to the UK. Tony it’s great to have you here with us, a warm welcome.
It’s fair to say the Biden administration is barely 100 days old, but has already taken a huge number of bold and very welcome steps on issues like climate change, global health and human rights, and that’s really created momentum in efforts to tackle these pressing global issues.
Since Tony’s confirmation, we have been working very closely together and today’s meeting has been another reminder of the depth and breadth of the work that we do together, the convergence of our interests and the many shared values.
Today, Tony and I discussed a full range of issues –I’ll give you a highlight of some of the key points.
We talked about our shared commitment to stand up for open societies, democracy and human rights – protecting fundamental freedoms, tackling disinformation, holding human rights abusers to account.
A key element of this is defending the rule of law, so we are determined to reform but reinforce the multilateral system.
We want to keep working together very closely on all of these points through the G7 and President Biden’s Democracy Summit.
We also discussed China. It’s fair to say that we see eye-to-eye on the need to stand up for our values, holding Beijing to the commitments that they have made, whether it’s in relation to Hong Kong under the Joint Declaration or wider commitments, whilst also at the same time finding constructive ways to work with China in a sensible and positive manner where that’s possible.
On global issues like climate change we want to see China stepping up to the plate and playing its full role.
Tony and I also discussed a whole range of security issues – Iran, Afghanistan, continuing concerns about Russia, in particular on the border with Ukraine.
We stand shoulder to shoulder on these issues – and I welcome the US’ firm recommitment to the NATO alliance.
It is only by working together overseas that we can keep our citizens safe at home. That’s true in NATO, and I think it’s true on COVID and the various measures we are taking to extend and expand and promote COVAX.
Secretary Blinken and I will see the Prime Minister tomorrow to continue the discussions that we’ve had.
One of the major areas of common interest is building a broader and stronger set of partnerships among countries that share our values, on the most important issues of the day.
So the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ meeting which begins today is a great opportunity to really drive that agenda forward.
This is the first opportunity for all G7 Foreign Ministers to meet together in person since 2019. We’re glad to be able to socialise a bit together and conduct those meetings face-to-face rather than doing it all just on Zoom and Teams.
It’s also fair to say that the world has changed quite a bit in those 2 short years.
Our societies and our economies have been shocked and shaken by coronavirus.
At the same time we are responding to a situation where our values are being challenged and the international architecture is at least in some respects being weakened.
There’s also rapid technological change which brings new opportunities, we’ve seen that with collaboration on things like the vaccine, but also acute challenges, and there are global threats from COVID to climate change that frankly demand global solutions and we’re committed to trying to find and forge those solutions.
In that context, we recognise the importance of building dynamic, agile new partnerships with like-minded countries which share our values.
That’s why we invited the foreign ministers from India, South Korea, Australia and Brunei, Brunei also representing ASEAN as the chair, and they’ll be taking part later on in the week. They are all key partners for us, I think they are also a sign of the growing focus on the Indo-Pacific region as the economic and strategic crucible for this century.
As for the G7, at its core it is a partnership based on values and so it is fitting that today we meet on World Press Freedom Day. We’ve seen a whole range of attacks on journalists, from Belarus to Myanmar. Violations of media freedoms are growing around the world at what I feel is an alarming rate.
I welcome the unequivocal stance of the US and the whole G7 on safeguarding those vital democratic bulwarks in our media freedoms.
As co-chair of the global Media Freedom Coalition, the UK is working with our partners so that we shine a light on the violations and we hold those to account. We support journalists who are trying to shine a light on those abuses around the world, and we try and reverse what is otherwise a dangerous trend.
This cuts to the core of the values and the interests that the G7 represents right around the world – and it shows once again why it’s so important for us to meet together this week.
Now, let me hand over to Tony. Tony thanks for being here, thanks for our valuable discussions today and we look forward to welcoming President Biden to the UK in June. And I am looking forward to a productive G7 meeting this week.
The comments made by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, on 4 May 2021.
The UK’s presidency of the G7 is an opportunity to bring together open, democratic societies and demonstrate unity at a time when it is much needed to tackle shared challenges and rising threats.
The addition of our friends from Australia, India, the Republic of Korea and South Africa, as well as the chair of ASEAN reflects the growing significance of the Indo-Pacific region for the G7.
The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 4 May 2021.
Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer. Each and every one of the more than 6,500 jobs we have announced today will help families and communities build back from coronavirus and boost the British and Indian economies.
In the decade ahead, with the help of the new Partnership signed today and a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, we will double the value of our trading partnership with India and take the relationship between our two countries to new highs.
The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 4 May 2021.
The UK and India share many fundamental values. The UK is one of the oldest democracies, and India is the world’s largest. We are both committed members of the Commonwealth. And there is a living bridge uniting the people of our countries.
In the last week the British people have stepped up in their thousands to support our Indian friends during this terrible time in a demonstration of the deep connection between the UK and India.
This connection will only grow over the next decade as we do more together to tackle the world’s biggest problems and make life better for our people. The agreements we have made today mark the beginning of a new era in the UK-India relationship.
The comments made by Alok Sharma, the COP26 President-Designate, on 6 May 2021.
With six months to go we are working hard to ensure COP26 will be a success and international partnerships will be key to this.
Denmark’s climate leadership, particularly its long-standing climate action across its economy, is very welcome.
The UK and Denmark will continue to work closely together in the run up to Glasgow as we look to raise ambition on climate action.
The joint statement issued by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain on 6 May 2021.
We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har Homa E area of the occupied West Bank, and to cease its policy of settlement expansion across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Settlements are illegal under international law, and threaten prospects for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If implemented, the decision to advance settlements in Har Homa, between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, will cause further damage to the prospects for a viable Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian State. This move, alongside settlement advancement in Givat HaMatos and continued evictions in East Jerusalem, including in Sheikh Jarrah, also undermines efforts to rebuild trust between the parties, following the positive resumption of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.
We call on both sides to refrain from any unilateral action and resume a credible and meaningful dialogue, to advance efforts for the two state solution and an end to the conflict.
The comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 6 May 2021.
These proposals from the US are welcome and it is vital that the UK government follows the Biden Administration’s lead and engages constructively to develop a workable plan at the WTO.
This is an important first step but if we are to deliver the massive global increase in vaccine production that is urgently needed we must also develop a plan to share our expertise, equipment and raw materials, and take action to identify, equip and finance the mass production facilities needed in every region of the globe.
So alongside today’s discussions, the UK government must begin work with the US and others on a comprehensive international agreement to bring about that step change in production, and replicate the speed, scale and success of the UK and US vaccination programmes in every country in the world.
The comments made by James Heappey, the Minister for the Armed Forces, on 29 April 2021.
This operation to transport vaccines to one of the most remote parts of the world, reaffirms our commitment to the people of our Overseas Territories.
The Armed Forces take great pride in supporting our people, at home or abroad, whenever and wherever needed. I am immensely proud of all Royal Navy and RAF personnel involved in this mission and the role they have played in helping to deliver vaccines to the people of Tristan da Cunha safely and quickly.
The speech made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 28 April 2021.
Mr Speaker, India is in a Covid crisis of unprecedented proportions.
We will all have seen the haunting footage of families pleading with doctors to treat their loved ones or queueing to cremate their dead.
In the last 24 hours, India has once more reported the world’s largest single day total, with more than 360,000 new confirmed cases and more than 3,000 deaths. There have been more than two million cases confirmed in the last week. India now makes up around 40 per cent of all the new cases in the world and experts believe this is almost certainly an underestimate. The peak of this crisis may yet be weeks away.
This is not just a heart-breaking crisis for India, it is global emergency that has consequences for all of us. We all face the same disease. We are all in this together. We are in a global race between vaccines and variants. No one is safe until we are all safe.
Mr Speaker, for many of us in Britain, our ties to India are personal. My father came to this country from India, and being half Indian is an important part of who I am. Family ties between our countries are woven into the fabric of this nation. For the more than one million British Indians of different generations, this is a moment of fear and anxiety. So many British Indians will have gone to work today in the NHS, to which they make such a remarkable contribution. They have helped to carry this country through this crisis. Today many will be worried for loved ones, family and friends in India.
Mr Speaker, just over a year ago, when the UK was facing one of our darkest moments in this pandemic, the Government of India sent 3,000,000 packets of paracetamol to the UK to meet our needs. That was an act of solidarity and support. It is now our turn to help the people of India in this hour of need.
I’m grateful to the Foreign Secretary for outlining what support the government has already provided.
I believe we can and must do more. I would be grateful if the Foreign Secretary could assure me the government is exploring all avenues available in the following areas:
First, Medical supplies: including oxygen, but also empty canisters and cylinders, oxygen concentrators, ventilators; and surplus therapeutic medicine like remdesivir;
Second, Genomic sequencing and epidemiology: utilising the UK’s world leading capacity in genomic sequence to track potential further mutations and variants in the Indian outbreak.
Third, Vaccines: we need a much greater effort to ensure we ramp up production and manufacturing capacity and overcome barriers to expanding supply, the greatest challenge we face.
Fourth, coordination – working with the government of India but also partners in North America and Europe to ensure our contributions have the greatest effect;
Mr Speaker, this is a time for solidarity and common cause with the people of India. I hope that today we can come together as a House and show that we are doing all we can.