Tag: David Lammy

The speech made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, in London on 2 July 2025.

Ladies and Gentleman, Friends.

It’s a great, great pleasure to be here today. Thank you to Sumaila and the team behind the Africa Debate, for bringing us all together.

This week, it’s 25 years since I was first elected the Member of Parliament for Tottenham and therefore began my journey in public life. So I want to start by looking back for just a moment in time.

I was a Member of Parliament and then a Junior Minister in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. And they were both very, very focused on Africa and the continent of Africa.

However, when I look back on that period, it was most definitely  principally through the lens of development and aid. This was the era of the Jubilee debt campaign. It was absolutely the era of the Millennium Development Goals. Make Poverty History was the theme of the day and the G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005, implementing many of the recommendations of Blair’s Commission for Africa.

These efforts left of course a legacy. In 2000, almost two-thirds of all sub-Saharan Africans lived on under three dollars a day, by 2010, when Gordon Brown left office, the figure was under half.

But when I became Foreign Secretary last year, I wanted to modernise our approach to Africa, modernise our approach to development.

I of course had been travelling to the continent for many, many years, the first country I ever visited was Kenya. But I’d seen the transformation of cities and communities, all brimming with huge potential.

And I suppose I also benefited from my own heritage in the Global South. My parents hailed from Guyana. And so I understood some of the frustrations of countries and communities when it felt like the West was ignoring people or not listening to people, not understanding what they really needed.

I wanted to change that. And to reset relations then with the Global South, and particularly with Africa. And to implement a new approach, partnership, not paternalism.

Genuine partnership is, by definition, between two equals each respecting the other. So in this job, I have tried to show that respect. And in the past year, I have visited eight African countries. The first Foreign Secretary to visit South Africa or Morocco since William Hague. And the first Foreign Secretary ever to visit the great country of Chad.

And on my first visit to the continent as Foreign Secretary, I launched consultations on our new Africa Approach. A five-month listening exercise, hearing from governments, from civil society and diaspora communities, from businesses and universities, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Dakar to Djibouti, what they valued, what they wanted to see from Britain.

We needed to listen. And I thank you all for your engagement over the course of this process and for what you told us, what we needed to hear.

The message actually didn’t surprise me. Because what African people want from Britain is exactly what British people want from Africa. You want, we want, growth.

And not just any form of growth, a jump in numbers on a spreadsheet for a year or two.

But a secure, sustainable growth for everyone, high-quality jobs, affordable prices, citizens living better lives than those of their ancestors.

You want, we want, opportunity.

Opportunity arising from our respective strengths, like the British education system, like of course the City of London, the incredible natural assets and energised young people across Africa, and our collective commitment to multilateralism.

And you want, and we want partnerships. Partnerships that harness our deep historic ties, and the array of personal connections that exist between us.

But partnerships that also continue to grow and deepen, as we both invest in them. That’s just a snapshot of a detailed piece of work.

But of course, the work can only be beginning. The real test of our Africa Approach, and this was clear in the consultation as well, is how we put it into practice.

Because talk is cheap. It’s actions in the end that count. I am excited by the deals driving growth that we have been delivering so far.

A new Strategic Partnership with Nigeria, a new growth plan with South Africa, a new partnership with Morocco, joint work on a new AI strategy in Ghana, and new investments in Tanzania and of course in Kenya, announced in the first East Africa Trade and Investment Forum here in London in May.

And thanks to our Developing Countries Trading Scheme, and free trade agreements with many African countries, almost £15 billion of goods were exported from Africa to Britain tariff-free last year.

And following the publication of the British Government’s new Trade Strategy, we will further simplify the rules of the DCTS scheme which benefits thirty-eight African countries, and review our tariffs with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

The Trade Strategy reinforces Britain’s belief in the power of free trade. And the largest free trade area in the world is Africa’s.

And that’s why we back the rollout of the African Continent Free Trade Agreement, reducing barriers to intra-African trade through support in areas like digital trade and custom cooperation.

And we will increase opportunities for British firms to play their part, just as it will increase prosperity in Africa. The British businesses and investors in this room have a big part to play. And I want our Ambassadors, our High Commissioners working closely with you, so that together, we can play a confident role in investing more, and supporting the growth of the African market.

So, more trade, more investment, this is the best path to prosperity for all.

And there is a role of course for development as well. But this has to be a modernised approach to development, recognising that fundamentally development is about growth, development is about jobs, development is about business.

The modern development expert needs to have a mindset of an investor, not a donor. Looking for the best return, not offering the biggest handout.

And it’s in that spirit that British International Investment recently signed an MoU with South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation, one of Africa’s largest asset managers.

And this week agreed to support Wave Money Mobile, an exciting African fintech unicorn.

And it’s also in that spirit that Britain is co-hosting the next Global Fund replenishment summit in South Africa.

And just last week I made a £1.25 billion pledge to the recent Gavi replenishment in Brussels, the largest of any sovereign donor.

That work will save lives – many, many millions. But it will also unlock economic value -every pound given to Gavi drives £54 in wider economic benefit.

And, crucially, it unlocks value in Britain and Africa. Gavi works closely with cutting-edge British pharmaceutical firms like GSK. And it’s also designed the first African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which is using industry partnerships to deliver vaccines for Africa.

Vaccines, and this is very important, because people talked about that during the COVID pandemic, they asked the question, why, why are we failing, the West failing to vaccinate the African continent, and that was an important question.

But there was a second question – why has the African continent not got its own manufacturing capability, and that is what we now need to deliver in Africa.

Working with partners like Nigeria, we are pushing for organisations like Gavi and the Global Fund to work together and reform, so that their work has national ownership at its heart.

National ownership is similarly important when it comes to reforming wider international finance, especially for climate and nature.

And thank you, President Ruto, for your leadership on the climate issue particularly. The theme of your conference is precisely the right framing, Africa has Natural Capital. But it cannot unlock this if we make it impossibly challenging for states to access the finance that they need.

At the recent Development Finance Summit in Seville, we were again pushing for reforms of the multilateral development banks and the IMF. We have to mobilise private capital and use guarantees to unlock more funds.

To empower regional development banks, like the African Development Bank, where developing countries have more of a voice. To tackle unsustainable debt. To work with the City to bring innovations like disaster risk insurance and strengthen local capital markets.

One example of what this can mean comes from Sierra Leone, where I can announce £2 million pounds worth of British government investment to back a mangrove restoration project by West Africa Blue. The project protects over 90,000 hectares of mangrove estuaries, improving coastal and community resilience.

But it is also demonstrating how this model can be commercially viable, unlocking future investment in similar projects in the future. And finally, alongside our work on trade, on investment and development finance, we have heard the clear message from the consultation on illicit finance as well.

I know that this message is not new. For years, friends in Africa have been saying Britain needs to do more to tackle dirty money. Kleptocrats and money launderers rob all our citizens of wealth and security.

And now, the Government is listening too. That’s why I’ve started imposing sanctions on crooks who siphon off public money for themselves, like Isabel dos Santos of Angola and Kamlesh Pattni’s illicit gold smuggling network.

And that’s why I’ve also announced that London will be hosting a Countering Illicit Finance Summit, bringing together a broad range and a broad coalition from the Global North and the Global South, to drive these criminals out of our economies.

Friends, I said the messages of our recent consultations were that Africa wanted more growth, Africa wanted more opportunities, Africa wanted more partnerships.

In effect, Africa wants Britain to help them to have more choices. Choices over who to do business with, because it’s choices which matter in a volatile geopolitical age.

Britain wants choices too. And I believe that, given the choice, more and more British businesses and investors will be choosing Africa in the coming years.

But don’t take my word for it – let’s hear from an African voice. It’s my pleasure now to introduce to the stage a great partner of the UK, a global leader on climate and nature action, and our next keynote speaker, His Excellency, Dr William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya.

The speech made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, at the British High Commission in Singapore on 12 July 2025.

It’s great to be here today.

As you have heard, I recently marked 25 years as a member of Parliament and this week one year as Foreign Secretary. It’s a pleasure to visit your great country following your sixtieth birthday as a nation.

Whenever I’ve come to Singapore and the wider ASEAN region, I’m struck by the innovative spirit, the creativity and the optimism.

Sixty years ago, Prime Minister Harold Wilson talked of the “white heat of technology” transforming British society and industry. Today, the whole world is being radically reconfigured by technology, but nowhere faster, or more successfully, than here.

I’m particularly pleased to be here after my second ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Malaysia. In Laos last year, I promised to reconnect Britain to the Indo-Pacific and that is well underway.

In just over a year, I’ve made 5 visits spanning 10 countries to the region. I’ve no doubt this will rise during my time in this job.

The Indo-Pacific matters to the UK. ASEAN will be the world’s fastest-growing economic bloc over the next decade. Your investments into Britain like Malaysian firm SMD Semiconductor’s new R&D hub in Wales, your market of 700 million consumers are a huge part of our growth ambitions.

Over the past year, we have been delivering on our promise to bring our economies closer together. Our CPTPP membership now ratified, our free trade agreement with India now signed our Industrial and Trade Strategies now published all speak to a hugely ambitious future for Britain in the Indo-Pacific.

But we want to go much further.  We’re working with ASEAN on their Power Grid and economic resilience.  We support CPTPP widening, deepening, and starting dialogues with trading blocs like ASEAN and the EU.

We are exploring other agreements, too, like a deeper FTA with South Korea or accession to the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement which Singapore co-founded. Today’s ‘digital trade’ will tomorrow simply be ‘trade’, and Britain is committed to making it faster, cheaper and easier.

As you in Singapore know very well this region is the crucible for global security. Partner countries like Britain must stand up for an open, stable and rules-based international system because our region’s security and your region’s security are inextricably linked.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine drove market turbulence in Asia. Any major supply chain disruption in Asia could push prices up in Britain. If we have learnt one lesson over the past decade, it is that economic security does not respect borders.

That is why Britain’s new National Security Strategy recommitted to the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Our Carrier Strike Group recently sailed through your waters – a deployment involving 12 other nations.

We’re deepening our many regional security partnerships including AUKUS and the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

HMS Prince of Wales, as we’ve heard, is participating in Exercise Bersama Lima in September and the Malaysian chair kindly invited me to the ASEAN Regional Forum just yesterday, where I underlined British support for ASEAN centrality and our growing cooperation against transnational crime and illicit finance.

In Singapore, you have proven over generations that it is not size which determines success it is strategic clarity. This is true of technology more than any other area. Singapore has shown what’s possible when digital innovation is matched with long-term thinking and national purpose.

Back in 1981, when most of us were still working out what a computer was, your leaders set up a National Computerisation Committee. In 2014, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the whole-of-government Smart Nation initiative. Then in 2019, Teo Chee Hean unveiled a National AI Strategy.

Each time, your leaders were ahead of the game. Each time there was a broader lesson. Singapore didn’t get ahead by throwing money at the private sector and hoping for the best.

Instead, you built serious public capability like SingPass, thanks to deep technical expertise inside government and investments in areas like compute and data infrastructure.

Starting in this job, I said that Britain needed to do more listening and less lecturing. A huge part of my trip this week has been to listen and, I hope, learn lessons on how we can pursue a similarly long-term strategy embracing technology. That vision must include specific focus on the intersection of AI and diplomacy.

This is not yet a staple of foreign ministry and foreign ministers’ discussions at least in my experience. But I believe that unless we lift our heads above the rat-race of crises and summits and examine the longer-term trends reshaping our world we will be boiled like the proverbial frog.

AI is not just the next rung in the technological ladder. It will deliver a paradigm shift in the distribution and exercise of power. It will redefine how nations project influence how threats emerge and how we defend ourselves. It will therefore transform how diplomacy is conducted.

As Prime Minister Wong said earlier this year: “The once-rising tide of global cooperation that defined the past decades is giving way to one of growing competition and distrust.  As a result, the world is becoming more fragmented and disorderly”.

There is much evidence of emerging technology catalysing the deterioration of both domestic and international norms. AI is at the spearhead of hybrid threats like disinformation. It is not enough for responsible states to complain about others’ reckless behaviour.

If we do not invest in gaining technological edge then our influence will inevitably decline. So today I want to outline a more hopeful vision of a sovereign, AI-enabled foreign policy.

I am proud of the role British diplomacy played at the Bletchley AI Safety Summit, our creation of the AI Security Institute, our plans for a new counter-hybrid taskforce in the FCDO to ready us for this new age.

I’m pleased also to see our work with Singapore in areas such as Responsible AI in the Military Realm and with ASEAN on AI for development.

But there has been little discussion between Britain and partners in the Indo-Pacific and beyond on how to use AI and advanced technology to make our diplomacy more effective.

I am determined to address this gap as Foreign Secretary, bringing AI to the centre of the FCDO’s policy machine. Like most foreign ministries, too many Foreign Office practices have changed little over the past half century. But the old levers of government – briefings, memos, lengthy debates on drafting – are too slow and cumbersome for the pace of modern statecraft.

In an age of ever-accelerating speed and complexity we need the tools to match. Let me be clear: AI will obviously not solve foreign policy. It will not eliminate risk, nor remove the need for careful human judgement and the ability of people to build trusting relationships, as I have been doing with ASEAN partners this week.

Diplomacy in 2025 needs machine speed and a human touch. It can help us to make better decisions amidst rising uncertainty. It can improve our ability to detect early signals of crisis, to simulate the likely effects of policy choices and to respond with speed and confidence.

Imagine for a moment an AI-powered unit at the heart of a foreign ministry. That could catalyse patterns of military movement, energy flows, and online narratives, model how a diplomatic crisis in one part of the world will have ripple effects elsewhere, red-team our response to a crisis – attacking our own policies before others can. Or flag emerging risks that human analysts might miss, especially when they emerge in grey zones favoured by adversaries.

These capabilities are not science fiction. They are already being employed. The United States’ DARPA and KAIROS projects already simulate complex political developments and anticipate conflict escalation. Estonia’s STRATCOM Centre uses AI-enabled systems to detect disinformation campaigns in real time.

Of course, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry uses predictive analytics to flag risks to critical supply chains.

The question before us is not whether AI will shape foreign policy. It is who will shape it, and how.

In the British Foreign Office, this government is investing £290 million in reforming our Department, helping to equip our teams with the capabilities and technologies that the modern era demands.

But outside of the United States and China, no country has the scale to deliver all the capabilities we need independently.

My call today is therefore for more collaboration, more AI diplomacy within a perimeter of values. I want partners such as Britain and Singapore to align standards, share tools and develop models that reflect our shared principles.

Deep bilateral partnerships will be at the core of Britain’s approach. For us, our special relationship with the United States will remain foundational rooted in particular on our deep security links.

With the European Union, we can pursue AI cooperation through the prism of foreign policy and security, not just regulation, and I will be discussing this with Kaja Kallas as part of our recently agreed Security and Defence Partnership.

With India through the ‘Technology Security Initiative’ we agreed last year, we will focus collaboration more sharply in critical and emerging technologies.

And with other Indo-Pacific partners I hope that we can build on initiatives like the UK-ASEAN AI Innovation Summit later this year and extend cooperation to AI-enabled foreign policy.

I said that you in Singapore have shown the power of long-term thinking. The importance of a long-term vision, and I hope we can apply that same approach to breaking down the silos between foreign policy and technology.

We live in a volatile world. Technology is reshaping our societies, making power more diffuse. Nations like Britain and Singapore need to equip ourselves with the tools to navigate these shifts and that means fusing AI and diplomacy, focusing on a long view of change and doubling down on our shared interests.

Thank you.

The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 20 May 2025.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This weekend, the Israel Defence Forces started a new, extensive ground operation throughout Gaza: Operation Gideon’s Chariots. Five Israeli divisions now operate there. Prime Minister Netanyahu says that they are going to take control of the strip, letting only minimal amounts of food reach Gazans; to quote Mr Netanyahu,

“just enough to prevent hunger.”

Fewer than 10 trucks entered Gaza yesterday. The UN and the World Health Organisation have issued stark warnings of the threat of starvation hanging over hundreds of thousands of civilians. This is abominable. Civilians in Gaza facing starvation, homelessness and trauma, desperate for this war to end, now confront renewed bombardment, displacement and suffering. The remaining hostages, kept apart from their loved ones by Hamas for almost 600 days, are now at heightened risk from the war around them.

Two months ago the ceasefire collapsed. Since then, the humanitarian catastrophe has rapidly intensified. For 11 weeks, Israeli forces have blockaded Gaza, leaving the World Food Programme without any remaining stocks. Israel has repeatedly struck hospitals, and three more in northern Gaza ceased operations this weekend. Yet more aid workers and medical workers have been killed, after last year proved the deadliest year on record for humanitarian personnel.

The diplomatic deadlock between Israel and Hamas has also hardened. Despite the efforts of the United States, Qatar and Egypt, which we of course support, no ceasefire has emerged. We repeat our demand that Hamas release all the hostages immediately and unconditionally, and reiterate that they cannot continue to run Gaza.

We are now entering a dark new phase in this conflict. Netanyahu’s Government plan to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need. Yesterday, Minister Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces “cleansing” Gaza, of “destroying what’s left” and of resident Palestinians being “relocated to third countries”. We must call this what it is: it is extremism, it is dangerous, it is repellent, it is monstrous and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

Israel suffered a heinous attack on 7 October. The Government have always backed Israel’s right to defend itself. We have condemned Hamas and their abhorrent treatment of the hostages. We have stood with the families and demanded that their loved ones be released. Israel’s plan is morally unjustifiable, wholly disproportionate and utterly counterproductive, and whatever Israeli Ministers claim, it is not the way to bring the hostages safely home. Nearly all the hostages have been freed through negotiations, not military force. That is why hostage families themselves, and many other Israelis, oppose this plan so strongly. It will not eliminate Hamas or make Israel secure either. This war has left a generation orphaned and traumatised, ready for Hamas to recruit. As we learned in Northern Ireland, to defeat terrorists and their warped ideology, we cannot just rely on military might; we have to offer a viable political alternative. Opposing the expansion of a war that has killed thousands of children is not rewarding Hamas.

Since entering office, we have taken concerted action on Gaza. We have restored funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, supported the independence of international courts, suspended arms export licences, provided food and medical care to hundreds of thousands of Gazans and worked with Arab partners on a plan to ensure a reconstructed Gaza no longer run by Hamas. Since Israel restarted strikes on Gaza, this Government have demanded that Israel change course.

Privately, in my conversations with Foreign Minister Sa’ar and Strategic Affairs Minister Dermer, and publicly, in repeated joint statements with my French and German counterparts, we have made clear that Israel’s actions are intolerable. We have raised our concerns in the UN Security Council and before the International Court of Justice. Yesterday, my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister joined leaders from France and Canada in strongly opposing the expansion of Israel’s military operations. The UK also led a further statement with 27 partners criticising Israel’s proposed new aid delivery mechanism and defending the essential humanitarian principles of the international system that the UK did so much to establish in the first place.

Our message is clear. There is a UN plan ready to deliver aid at the scale needed, with mitigations against aid diversion. There are brave humanitarians ready to do their jobs. There are over 9,000 trucks at the border. Prime Minister Netanyahu: end this blockade now and let the aid in.

Regrettably, despite our efforts, this Israeli Government’s egregious actions and rhetoric have continued. They are isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world, undermining the interests of the Israeli people and damaging the image of the state of Israel in the eyes of the world. I find this deeply painful, as a lifelong friend of Israel and a believer in the values expressed in its declaration of independence. As the Prime Minister and fellow leaders said yesterday, we cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration. It is incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship, it is rejected by Members across this House, and frankly, it is an affront to the values of the British people. Therefore, today I am announcing that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli Government on a new free trade agreement and we will be reviewing co-operation with them under the 2030 bilateral road map. The Netanyahu Government’s actions have made this necessary.

Today, the Minister for the middle east, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer) is summoning the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign Office to convey this message. I say now to the people of Israel that we want—I want—a strong friendship with you based on shared values, with flourishing ties between our people and societies. We are unwavering in our commitment to your security and to your future, to countering the very real threat from Iran, the scourge of terrorism and the evils of antisemitism. However, the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with their Government and, as the Prime Minister has said, if Israel pursues this military offensive as it has threatened, failing to ensure the unhindered provision of aid, we will take further action in response.

The UK, will not give up on a two-state solution: Israelis living within secure borders, recognised and at peace with their neighbours, free from the threat of terrorism; and Palestinians living in their own state, in dignity and security, free of occupation. The two-state solution remains the ideal framework; indeed, it is the only framework for a just and lasting peace. Yet as the House knows, its very viability is in peril, endangered not only by the war in Gaza but by the spread of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts across the occupied west bank with the explicit support of this Israeli Government.

There are now weekly meetings to approve new settlement construction. Settlement approval has accelerated while settler violence has soared. Here, too, we have acted: repeatedly pressing for a change in course and direction, sanctioning seven entities in October and signing a landmark agreement to bolster support for the Palestinian Authority when Prime Minister Mustafa visited London last month. But here too, we must do more. Today, we are therefore imposing sanctions on a further three individuals and four entities involved in the settler movement. I have seen for myself the consequences of settler violence, the fear of its victims and the impunity of its perpetrators. Today, we are demonstrating again that we will continue to act against those carrying out heinous abuses of human rights.

Despite the glimmer of hope from January’s ceasefire, the suffering in this conflict has worsened. January showed that another path was possible, and we urge the Netanyahu Government to choose this path. The world is judging. History will judge them. Blocking aid, expanding the war and dismissing the concerns of their friends and partners is indefensible and it must stop. I commend this statement to the House.

The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, on 7 May 2025.

Current tensions between India and Pakistan are a serious concern. The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward.

The UK has close and unique relationships with both countries. I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins. The UK was clear in its condemnation of the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month. We need all sides to work urgently to see regional stability restored and ensure protection of civilians.

The safety of British nationals in the region will always be our priority. The FCDO continues to monitor developments closely and stands ready to support any British nationals 24/7. Any British nationals in the region should follow the FCDO’s travel advice for the country they are in, along with the advice of the local authorities.

The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, on 24 April 2025.

The reports of violence in and around the city of El Fasher are appalling.

Last week, the UK gathered the international community in London to call for an end to the suffering of the Sudanese people. Yet some of the violence in Darfur has shown the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing and may amount to crimes against humanity. Both sides must de-escalate urgently in Darfur and implement UNSCR2736, which calls on the RSF to halt its siege of El Fasher and bring an immediate stop to the fighting.

The UK will continue to use all tools available to us to us to hold those responsible for atrocities to account.

The warring parties have a responsibility to end this suffering. There are no exceptions to the laws of war: both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces agreed at Jeddah to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.

It is their responsibility to enforce these commitments, through command and control of their fighters and aligned militias. The RSF must immediately cease attacks on civilians, and the SAF and allied Joint Forces must allow safe passage for civilians to reach safety.

Hundreds of thousands have been displaced; yet many more in Zamzam IDP camp and El Fasher are being blocked from fleeing this violence by the warring parties. They must be free to seek safety wherever they think best and be protected as they do so.

The warring parties must give humanitarian actors the security guarantees needed to  deliver aid rapidly, safely and at scale, including through a 72-hour pause in fighting. This must be through transparent notification of movement, rather than permission, throughout North Darfur and beyond.

The speech made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, in London on 15 April 2025.

Two years on from this war starting, with frontlines shifting again, I fear many onlookers feel a sense of déjà vu. The country’s fraught history also means that some conclude that further conflict is effectively inevitable.

Many have given up on Sudan. That is wrong. It’s morally wrong when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants as young as one subjected to sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world.

We simply cannot look away. And as I speak, civilians and aid workers in El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp are facing unimaginable violence.

With over four million refugees having fled the country, and instability spreading far beyond Sudan’s border, it’s also strategically wrong to forget Sudan. And that’s why, as Foreign Secretary, I refused to turn away. I felt a duty to confront this war’s horrors head on.

I have been to the Sudanese border and met with survivors. I have called out attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers in the United Nations.

And I have doubled our aid to Sudan, and today I am announcing a further £120 million worth of support. But the biggest obstacle is not a lack of funding or texts at the United Nations, it’s lack of political will.

Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across the country and to put peace first.

And so we do need patient diplomacy. Bringing together this group today, focusing of course on the areas where we agree and building out from there is very very important today, indeed. Today’s goal is then to do just that. We all want to see Sudan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity upheld.

We all want to see a united state, with functioning institutions. We all want to see Sudan’s civilians protected, and the millions of displaced people able to return to their homes.

This is a strong basis to agree the steps needed then to relieve suffering and to end this awful war. I hope across our three sessions, we can agree a set of principles for our future diplomatic engagement.

When I met with Sudanese refugees in Chad I was frankly humbled by their resilience. In the face of unimaginable trauma, they had not given up on their country or the communities around them.

For their sake, we cannot resign ourselves to inevitable conflict. We cannot be back here one year from now, having the same discussion. So today, let’s show them and the world we have not given up on them. We have not given up on Sudan.

I am hugely grateful for the support from the African Union, and to my colleagues from France, Germany and the EU in supporting the shared endeavour.

The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, on 5 April 2025.

It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.

I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support.

The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.

The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, on 27 February 2025.

The UK disagrees in the strongest terms with Thailand’s decision to deport 40 Uyghur Muslims to China. This is despite Thailand’s international obligations in relation to non-refoulement and the well-documented ongoing human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The UK calls for the human rights of this group to be upheld, and we urge China to implement the wider recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in relation to Xinjiang.