Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 December 2024.

The UK and Australia will reinforce their economic and defence partnership and bolster co-operation on shared global challenges at this year’s AUKMIN meeting.

• Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary host Australian counterparts in London to address shared security challenges and deliver growth and put more money in people’s pockets
• ministers will reaffirm steadfast commitment to AUKUS, one of the most strategically important collaborations for decades
• government sets out a range of major initiatives set out to boost security at home and around the world

The UK and Australia will reinforce their economic and defence partnership and bolster co-operation on shared global challenges at an annual ministerial meeting – known as AUKMIN – today (16 December).

The Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary will host Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles in London. They will discuss cooperation on issues including Ukraine, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. They are expected to announce a series of major initiatives:

• the deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group to Australia in 2025
• extended Australian support for training Ukrainian Armed Forces
• new submarine programme office in Bristol

In a turbulent world, the UK-Australia friendship matters even more. Both countries must work together on shared security in Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic, boosting our security at home and abroad.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

The UK and Australia have a long and enduring friendship underpinned by close trade ties that are benefiting Brits and Aussies alike.

The growth mission is the central mission of the government. We want to go further to deepen our cooperation with countries like Australia to boost economic growth, build supply chain resilience and transition to net zero.

Together, we are modernising our partnership, working to tackle the biggest challenges around the world and furthering our co-operation on defence, security and foreign policy matters.

Defence Secretary John Healey said:

Our unique and historic partnership with Australia is more important than ever in the face of increasing global threats.

Today’s announcements demonstrate how our two nations, working in lockstep, can help drive jobs and growth while reinforcing our collective security.

Through our joint support to Ukraine, AUKUS partnership and high-end military exercises, we are proving the value of cooperation in delivering security and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

A key pillar of AUKMIN is cooperation with Australia on defence, working together to make the UK and Australia more secure. The UK is committed to AUKUS, our defence and security partnership with Australia, and the US, and the jobs and growth it can deliver for Britain. AUKUS will transform UK-Australia defence industrial cooperation. The ministers are determined to make it the floor, not the ceiling, of the security partnership, using it to ensure strategic stability as well as driving growth and jobs.

The AUKUS submarine programme is set to generate 7,000 additional British jobs and at its peak, there will be over 21,000 people working on the SSN-AUKUS programmes in the UK supply chain. This will support the government’s plan to kickstart economic growth, and drive forward economic stability and investment.

Today, ministers will announce the creation of a new office in Bristol – ‘Programme Interface Office’ – to coordinate and integrate the UK and Australian AUKUS programmes and supply chains. Through the growth mission, the government is restoring economic stability, increasing investment and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

The UK and Australia are also developing strategic undersea warfare cooperation. Australia will equip its Hunter Class frigates with Thales’ world-leading 2087 sonar. This will see both the UK and Australia working together to develop underwater capability and share information. This will contribute around £45 million to the UK economy, supporting economic growth.

The UK Carrier Strike Group will also sail to Australia in 2025, in a further demonstration of the UK’s commitment Indo-Pacific security. HMS Prince of Wales will be the first Queen Elizabeth-class carrier to conduct a port visit to Australia. She will also participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre, a multinational exercise hosted by Australia involving nineteen nations.

Together, the UK and Australia are putting pressure on countries around the world to deter military cooperation with Russia. This includes the deployment of troops by North Korea to Russia and their supply of munitions, arms and other materiel. Both countries recognise Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security are indivisible.

As one of the biggest financial supporters of Ukraine, the UK is pleased Australia will extend their training contribution to Operation Interflex to the end of 2025. The UK-led training scheme has now prepared more than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits for combat.

The UK supports Australia’s bid to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific with climate change being one of the most pressing challenges of our time. This government is committed to making Britain a clean energy super-power, and Australia shares the same ambition to lead the world on clean energy. Both the UK and Australia will commit to further enhanced co-operation to ensure climate finance reaches those on the frontline of the climate crisis, particularly Pacific island countries.

Australia recently joined the Global Clean Power Alliance Finance Mission, which will help to unlock clean energy finance at scale. At CHOGM, the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Albanese agreed to a new UK-Australia Climate and Energy Partnership, which will focus on the accelerated deployment of renewable energy technologies, such as green hydrogen and offshore wind, to support the economic resilience and decarbonisation goals of both countries.

Background

• AUKMIN is a set-piece meeting which has taken place since 2006. It is an important moment for the UK and Australia in agreeing collaboration in defence, security and foreign policy matters. It is also an opportunity to highlight joint work in maintaining geo-political stability, which is key to underpinning growth and prosperity in the UK and beyond, including through the joint work between both countries’ defence industries
• during AUKMIN, the UK and Australia will commit to a consolidated hydrography partnership which will include greater cooperation to improve Pacific Islands hydrography capability, including launching a programme funded by FCDO which will see a new Hydrography Leaders Programme for the South West Pacific and a UKHO secondee to Fiji

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 December 2024.

Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West, has issued a statement in response to today’s events in South Korea.

Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West said:

We are following events in South Korea closely, including today’s vote in the South Korean National Assembly to impeach President Yoon and put an Acting President in place.

South Korea is a global strategic partner for the UK, and we look forward to close cooperation with the Acting President and administration.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 December 2024.

Statement by the governments of the USA, the Arab Contact Group on Syria, Bahrain, France, Germany, Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the EU, and the UN Special Envoy for Syria on the margins of the Aqaba Joint Contact Group ministerial meeting on Syria.

The Arab Contact group on Syria met with Ministers and Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, United States of America, the European Union and the UN Special Envoy for Syria, to discuss recent developments in Syria.

The participants:

Affirmed the full support to the Syrian people at this critical point in their history to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future.

Expressed commitment to principles that they believe are in the best interests of the Syrian people, the region, and the world in this critical period.  They believe the transitional political process must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned; produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process based on the principles of the United Nations Security Council resolution 2254; emphasize their support for the UN Special Envoy mandate; and request the UN Secretary General to scale up the UN’s presence on the ground.

Affirmed the full support for Syria’s unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Stressed on the respect for human rights, including for women and minorities; preserve state institutions that serve the interests of, and provide critical services to, the Syrian people; exist in harmony with its neighbors; provide unfettered access for humanitarian aid and freedom of movement for IDPs and returnees; protect all foreign diplomatic facilities and personnel; secure and safely destroy chemical weapons stockpiles; and facilitate access to regime prisons and facilities for accountability and to determine the fate of missing Syrians and foreign nationals.

Affirmed the full support for Syria’s unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Stressed that the period ahead will serve as a critical test of these above-mentioned principles.  Further, they emphasized the importance of adhering to these principles which will be fundamental in determining their approach going forward.

Underscored that Syria finally has the chance to end decades of isolation. They are committed to supporting and working with the Syrian people as they embark on this unprecedented transition.

Stressed the importance of combating terrorism and extremism, including preventing the reemergence of all terrorist groups. Further, demanded that Syrian territory does not pose a threat to any country, or a shelter to terrorists.

Affirmed their demand to all parties to cease hostilities in Syria.

Demanded respect of the sovereignty of Syria and its unity, and territorial integrity, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter by all.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on UNOCA/LRA.

The statement underscored the Council’s support to SRSG Abarry and the valuable work of his office in the sub-region.

The United Kingdom also welcomes the SRSG’s close coordination of efforts with his counterparts in the region, namely the SRSG’s of UNOWAS, MONUSCO, MINUSCA and the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, together that facilitates a coherent approach to common regional challenges.

I will now make three points.

The UK welcomes the continued progress towards Gabon’s political transition, and the SRSG’s efforts in using UNOCA’s good offices to support the recent peaceful referendum.

The UK encourages UNOCA to continue its valuable work as Gabon moves towards presidential elections next year.

Peaceful and credible Presidential elections in 2025 will be an important way for the government of Gabon to continue to deliver for the Gabonese people.

Second, the UK welcomes legislative, provincial and local elections in Chad which will mark the end of the country’s political transition.

Chad has been impacted by the conflict in Sudan, severe flooding and terrorism in recent months.

But even in this challenging time, we urge the government to uphold the principles agreed in the Inclusive Sovereign National Dialogue and to ensure transparent, pluralistic and, above all, peaceful elections.

The end of the transition should mark the beginning, not the end, of Chad’s journey to democracy. The UK will continue to support the government’s resilience and development priorities.

And third, the UK remains concerned by the violence in North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, and its impact on the lives of civilians. UNOCA is well-placed to support a Cameroonian-led dialogue and ultimately a Cameroonian-led resolution to the conflict.

We are also concerned by the continued threat posed by Islamist groups in Cameroon’s Far North region and across the Lake Chad Basin. We encourage all states in the region to continue coordinating their responses through the Multinational Joint Task Force.

Multinational cooperation remains the most effective way to tackle these groups which pose a common risk to the sub-region.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2024.

UK Explanation of Vote delivered by Jess Jambert-Gray, UK Deputy Political Coordinator, following the vote on the UN Security Council resolution on the 2713 sanctions regime.

Somalia is undergoing a critical period in its security transition.

In October, the Council endorsed UNTMIS taking over responsibilities from UNSOM and beginning its transition to a United Nations Country Team. ATMIS is due to be replaced by its successor mission, AUSSOM, at the start of next year, and we are grateful for the constructive Council negotiations on the mandate yesterday.

We are also grateful for the continued efforts of the Somali authorities to successfully deliver its security transition, with the support of the UN, AU, international partners, and this Council.

In the context of these transitions, the text that we have tabled for adoption today provides stability for the functioning of the Al-Shabaab sanctions regime, maintaining the current provisions until the end of February.

In the meantime, we look forward to consulting stakeholders in the coming weeks to consider the best shape of this vital regime, ensuring it supports our collective effort to degrade the threat posed by Al-Shabaab.

We now turn our attention back to the AUSSOM mandate, where we look forward to maintaining our close collaboration as a Council in support of this next stage in Somalia’s security transition.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2024.

Statement for the Intersessional ID with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Venezuela. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Over four months have passed since the presidential election, and the Venezuelan authorities have failed to produce any evidence of the purported victory. Instead, they have taken further steps to induce fear, stifle civil society, and clamp down on opposition.

In the last two weeks alone, we have witnessed the approval of the ‘Simón Bolívar’ law, already identified by UN Special Procedures as a method of persecution against activists and civil society, and the entry into force of the ‘anti-NGO’ law.

Despite some conditional releases, over 1,900 Venezuelans remain arbitrarily detained. And reports of more such detentions and enforced disappearances continue to surface. We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all such detainees.

High Commissioner,

We note the limited return of your Office to Venezuela, however, we urge the Venezuelan authorities to provide meaningful collaboration. Your team needs an increased footprint on the ground to monitor and document effectively the dire human rights situation. More importantly, such a presence is vital to fulfil your protection mandate given the ongoing persecution against the opposition, and human rights defenders, many of whom have been forced into hiding or exile.

This repression is unacceptable and it has to stop.