The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 27 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados at UNGA.
Both leaders stressed the strength of the relationship between their two countries and discussed the importance of working together on key issues such as international financial institution reform, climate change and pandemic preparedness.
They looked forward to meeting again soon.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 27 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at UNGA.
The Prime Minister opened by giving his sincere condolences to Prime Minister Mikati for the loss of civilian life in recent weeks.
They discussed the escalating conflict in Lebanon, and agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated solution.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres at UNGA this morning.
They discussed some of the most pressing global issues including Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.
The Prime Minister underlined his commitment to working with the United Nations to tackle global challenges, including climate change and development.
The UN Secretary General thanked the UK for continuing to play a central role in the work of the UN.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, human rights and international humanitarian law.
The two agreed to work together to implement the Pact for the Future.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan in New York this morning.
They discussed the deep relationship between the UK and Pakistan, including strong people to people links, and on trade and investment.
They agreed to work together to deepen these relations further, particularly on trade, climate, and security.
The Prime Minister also congratulated Prime Minister Sharif on Pakistan’s election to the UN Security Council and agreed on the importance of working to strengthen the multilateral system.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at UNGA this afternoon.
The Prime Minister expressed his condolences for the civilian death toll in Gaza.
He said that we need an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and unrestricted humanitarian aid.
The Prime Minister also condemned the increase in settler violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank.
The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s strong support for the Palestinian Authority, and they agreed to continue close collaboration.
He underlined that the only solution to the cycle of violence was to create a credible and irreversible pathway to a Palestinian State, alongside the State of Israel.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Mark Birch, Minor Canon and Precentor at Westminster Abbey as Canon Rector of Westminster Abbey and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, in succession to The Venerable Tricia Hillas following her appointment as Bishop of Sodor and Man.
Mark was educated at Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford Universities, initially in Veterinary Science. He trained for ministry at Westcott House Cambridge, served his title at the parish of Cirencester with Watermoor in the Diocese of Gloucester, and was ordained priest in 2001. In 2003 Mark was appointed Chaplain and Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford and in 2006 moved to become Chaplain and co-ordinator of spiritual care at Helen & Douglas House, a children’s hospice, in Oxford. In 2010 he was appointed as Chaplain at Lord Mayor Treloar’s School and College before moving into parish ministry as Priest in Charge of St Faith, Winchester, in 2012, alongside which he continued in chaplaincy work as Chaplain of the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester. In 2015 Mark was appointed Minor Canon and Chaplain at Westminster Abbey, becoming Sacrist in 2018. He was appointed to his current role as Precentor in 2020.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Kenyan President William Ruto at UNGA this afternoon.
The two leaders stressed how pleased they were to meet each other for the first time, and agreed the UK and Kenya share a close and important partnership.
They agreed to take forward work to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, building on the existing Strategic Partnership between our two countries.
In particular, both leaders shared their determination to deliver world-leading action to tackle climate change and accelerate the energy transition.
The Prime Minister praised President Ruto’s extensive and pioneering leadership in this area, both in Kenya and through his international work across Africa and the world to accelerate the clean energy transition, and reiterated his ambition to turn the UK into a clean energy superpower.
Both looked forward to working together more closely and agreed to take forward work to champion clean power internationally– including leveraging the power of private sector investment and international financial institution reform to deliver on their climate ambitions.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at UNGA this afternoon.
They discussed their shared commitment to tackling global challenges, including the importance of global ambition on climate change and poverty.
The Prime Minister congratulated President Lula on his leadership on tackling both these challenges as President of the G20 and looked forward to the Summit in Rio.
The leaders shared their plans to accelerate the energy transition at home and internationally, and agreed to work closely on this agenda including for COP30.
The Prime Minister also confirmed strong support for President Lula’s G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
They also discussed the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon. The Prime Minister set out his steadfast support for Ukraine and upholding the UN Charter. On the Middle East, the Leaders underlined the importance of ceasefires in both Lebanon and in Gaza.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 25 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at UNGA this afternoon.
The two leaders had a productive meeting, with the Prime Minister paying tribute to the continued courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that Ukraine is at a critical point in the war, but he reiterated the UK’s support is ironclad and will continue for as long as it takes.
President Zelenskyy set out his ambitions for the coming months and thanked the Prime Minister for the UK’s continued backing.
They agreed to keep in close contact in the coming weeks.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 25 September 2024.
A major £10 billion investment which will create thousands of jobs in the North East of England has been announced by the Prime Minister in New York today.
A major £10 billion investment which will create thousands of jobs in the North East of England has been announced by the Prime Minister in New York today.
The deal with US investment company Blackstone, facilitated by the Office for Investment, will create the biggest AI data centre in Europe, boosting the UK’s world leading capabilities in the AI sector and driving growth in the local community.
Over 4,000 jobs will be created as a result, including 1,200 roles dedicated to the construction of the site in Blyth, Northumberland. Construction on the site is expected to begin next year, with the data centres set to store the vast amount of data needed to power AI, and to store the information generated by AI systems.
The Prime Minister’s number one mission for government is economic growth, and foreign investment will be a key part of driving it – by creating jobs which will put money into the pockets of hard-working British people.
The local community in Blyth – which suffered as a result of the failure of BritishVolt – will also directly benefit from the investment, with Blackstone confirming it will invest £110 million into a fund – supporting further skills training and transport infrastructure in the area.
The UK is already home to the highest number of data centres in Western Europe and just last month, the government classed data centres as ‘Critical National Infrastructure’ in the first designation in almost a decade to provide greater reassurance to businesses that the UK is a secure place to invest in and develop data centres.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
The number one mission of my government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits – and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan.
New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business.
Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, said:
The UK is a top investment market for Blackstone because of its powerful combination of talent and innovation along with a highly transparent legal system. We are making significant commitments to building social housing, facilitating the energy transition, growing life sciences companies and developing critical infrastructure needed to fuel the digital economy. This includes a projected £10 billion investment to build one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data centres supporting 4,000 jobs. Blackstone is committed to Britain.
The Prime Minister will meet Blackstone President Jon Gray in New York this morning, as he seeks to rebuild Britain’s reputation as an investment destination in order to drive growth and create opportunities for British people.
This comes ahead of the UK’s International Investment Summit in October, which is set to bring together hundreds of leading CEOs and investors set to attend representing the best of business across the globe, with an ambitious programme to showcase the UK’s economic strengths.
The summit will rebuild Britain’s reputation as an investment destination to drive growth and create opportunities for British people and cement the government’s enduring partnership with businesses to give them the certainty they need to invest and grow in the UK.
Today’s investment also bolsters the UK’s bilateral trading relationship with the US which is already worth over £340 billion – making the US our largest single trading partner.
Every day, 1.2 million Americans go to work for UK-owned businesses and 1.3 million Brits work for US owned companies. Just last year the UK and US together invested over $1.2 trillion in each other’s economies, across key sectors like financial services, green infrastructure, real estate and technology.