Tag: Downing Street

The Prime Minister met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO Summit in Vilnius today.

The Prime Minister welcomed Türkiye’s support for Sweden’s accession to NATO and commended President Erdoğan for his efforts.

The leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to ensuring the UK-Türkiye relationship reaches its full potential, building on growing trade links and strong defence and security cooperation.

Discussing opportunities to bolster our bilateral cooperation, including in cutting-edge defence technology and in addressing the shared challenge of illegal migration, the Prime Minister set out that dealing with criminal people smuggling gangs is a key priority for him.

Both leaders agreed to task their Foreign Ministers to look at areas for closer collaboration on migration and organised crime. The leaders also agreed to deepen intelligence sharing and cooperation on countering terrorism.

President Erdoğan updated the Prime Minister on President Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Türkiye and the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring an extension to the Black Sea Grain Deal.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

He looked forward to welcoming President Von Der Leyen to London for the Ukraine Recovery Conference this week, and they discussed efforts to galvanise international support for Ukraine and drive long-term public and private investment.

The leaders also reflected on the tragic shipwreck in Greece last week and the brutal business model of people-smuggling gangs.

They reiterated their commitment to continue working closely together to break the criminal enterprises driving illegal migration, including UK cooperation with the EU border agency Frontex.

Following his visit to the US last week, the Prime Minister updated on the UK’s work on artificial intelligence and the leaders discussed the challenges and opportunities of this burgeoning technology.

President Von Der Leyen welcomed plans for a UK-hosted global summit on AI later this year and highlighted EU initiatives in this area, and they agreed to cooperate on a shared approach.

The Prime Minister also noted opportunities for the UK and EU to further develop our joint work on science and technology, including to meet our shared green ambitions.

He hoped to see progress in discussions on the UK’s possible participation in the Horizon Europe programme, and for the UK and EU to reach a pragmatic agreement on electric vehicle battery manufacturing to support car makers across the continent.

The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers on the front line of the counteroffensive and said it was clear they were making good progress.

He told President Zelenskyy that the UK was firmly behind Ukraine as it continued to push back invading Russian forces. Small steps forward would bring success, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister updated on his recent visit to the US and his meeting with President Biden, and said it was clear the US and UK were in lockstep in their unwavering support for Ukraine.

Both the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy looked forward to speaking at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is being hosted in London this week.

It was a unique opportunity to underline the strong public and private sector support for Ukraine, and demonstrate the country’s transformation and ongoing reform, the leaders agreed.

Looking ahead to the NATO summit next month, the Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy that he believed NATO members would demonstrate a strong signal of support for Ukraine at the Vilnius meeting.

The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

Ukraine’s recovery must be accelerated through rapid investment and innovation, the Prime Minister will tell a major global summit this week, as he calls on investors and businesses to back the country for the long term.

The Prime Minister will tell the conference that the financial fight to ensure Ukraine is able to rebuild and recover is its own form of counteroffensive against Russia.

His call comes as the UK prepares to launch a number of rapidly deployable, agile digital tools as part of the Ukraine Recovery Conference this week to help the country quickly harness overseas investment.

More than 1000 foreign dignitaries from 61 states, NGO representatives and hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs are expected to travel to London for the event, with the Prime Minister opening the conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will attend virtually.

Both European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are also expected to speak in the opening session of the conference on Wednesday.

The two-day summit will be the largest international conference the UK hosts this year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to say:

Ukraine’s bravery on the battlefield must be matched by the vision of the private sector to help the country rebuild and recover. Time and time again, Ukraine has shown its ability to rapidly harness innovation and creativity, and I know its recovery will be no different.

The illegal invasion of Ukraine has devastated businesses and livelihoods throughout the country, but it has not destroyed the ingenuity or determination of the Ukrainian people.

A financially stronger, technologically advanced Ukraine will bolster its ability to drive Russia back behind its borders and build a brighter future for a sovereign and modern Ukraine of the future.

Innovation will be a key them at this week’s conference, with Ukraine becoming a major player in the global IT industry prior to the invasion. The rapidly expanding sector also supported more than 300,000 jobs across the country.

Many people working in the industry have now sharpened their skills on the battlefield, turning their hands to building new apps and modifying weapons software in their retaliation against invading Russian forces.

Some of the innovative tools expected to be announced at the summit will include a digital platform that will connect Ukrainian businesses with global companies, enabling virtual networking and driving collaboration on everything from supply chain issues to business expansion.

The matchmaking platform will support reconstruction and recovery through the creation sustainable and long-lasting commercial relationships, all at the touch of a button.

Concurrently, a new UK-Ukraine TechBridge will be launched by Business and Trade Minister Nusrat Ghani in London on Tuesday evening in partnership with the Government of Ukraine.

The initiative was first proposed ahead of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine but has gained momentum in recent months as it became clear it could provide vital opportunities to businesses trying to rebuild and grow in Ukraine.

The TechBridge will be established as a physical space to bring together the UK and Ukrainian innovators, entrepreneurs and the technology and financing industries to foster greater collaboration to drive forward recovery and reconstruction. The centre will also offer training, upskilling and business support across the tech sector.

As part of the push on innovation, the UK will also launch a £10 million InnovateUkraine Green Energy Challenge Fund at the summit.

The fund will spark and accelerate the development of low-carbon, affordable energy projects for Ukraine, with researchers, businesses and NGOs able to apply for financial backing to make their green energy ideas a reality, with the hope of being able to roll out some of the projects to communities in Ukraine routinely facing blackouts and energy shortages.

The UK will roll out a major expansion to its cyber defence programme in Ukraine, protecting the country’s critical national infrastructure from crippling Russian attacks.

The programme, which supports Ukraine’s Government to rapidly respond to and defend vital government services against debilitating cyber-attacks, will be boosted by an injection of up to £25 million and a two-year expansion.

The package will include £16 million in UK funding and potential for a further £9 million contribution from international allies.

It is the latest tranche of UK support to Ukraine as the country mounts its counteroffensive against Russian forces that have brutally invaded the country, using all domains to sow instability and attempt to destroy Ukraine’s rightful sovereignty.

The Prime Minister, who will this week make the case for the private sector to join the counteroffensive against Russia by supporting Ukraine through investment, will say that it is vital the international community hardens Ukraine’s defences to enable it to protect and grow investment into the country.

Ukraine has successfully fought back a number of cyber-attacks by Russian forces, including destructive wiper-ware attacks and covert espionage-ware attacks.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Russia’s appalling attacks on Ukraine are not limited to their barbaric land invasion, but also involve sickening attempts to attack their cyber infrastructure that provides vital services, from banking to energy supplies, to innocent Ukrainian people.

This funding is critical to stopping those onslaughts, hardening Ukraine’s cyber defences and increasing the country’s ability to detect and disable the malware targeted at them.

The UK-funded Ukraine Cyber Programme (UCP) uses world-leading expertise, from both the private and public sector, to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure and vital public services.

The support, which builds on the Foreign Secretary’s announcement of £6.35 million for the programme last year, will also fund and provide forensic capabilities to enable Ukrainian cyber experts to analyse system compromises, attribute attackers and build better evidence to prosecute these indiscriminate attacks.

In addition to boosting cyber defences, the UK has also stepped up its military support to Ukraine.

This week, the UK contributed a further £250 million to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), which announced it would provide a major package of air defence, including radars, guns and ammunition to Kyiv to protect Ukrainian cities from indiscriminate Russian attacks.

That announcement followed the delivery of the UK’s long-range missile strike capability Storm Shadow last month, which has provided Ukraine with game-changing capability to defend itself from Russian attacks and degrade the capability of invading Russian forces.

Rules banning multibuy deals on foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar – including buy one get one free deals – will be delayed for another two years until October 2025, the government has confirmed.

The policy had already been subject to a delay until October 2023. This will now be extended to allow the government to continue to review the impact of the restrictions on the consumers and businesses in light of the unprecedented global economic situation.

Economies across the world have been affected by higher-than-expected global energy and goods prices, leading to increased costs across supply chains.

The delay means shoppers will be able to continue taking advantage of multibuy offers on all foods.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

I firmly believe in people’s right to choose – and at a time when household budgets are under continuing pressure from the global rise in food prices, it is not fair for government to restrict the options available to consumers on their weekly shop.

It is right that we consider carefully the impact on consumers and businesses, while ensuring we’re striking the balance with our important mission to reduce obesity and help people live healthier lives.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

With families facing rising food prices and cost of living pressures, it is right that we delay the implementation of these restrictions so as to support businesses and allow them to focus on making food more affordable for families.

We remain committed to cutting waiting lists by tackling obesity which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest cause of cancer. We’re already taking action to do so, including by launching pilots for the latest anti-obesity drugs.

Addressing obesity remains a priority for government, as it will help to reduce the strain put on the NHS as it works to tackle the COVID-19 backlogs.

This month the government announced the rollout of a new generation of obesity drugs to support people to lose weight and reduce pressure on hospitals.

This comes on top of further action including:

• Introducing calorie labelling on menus, which are expected to bring health benefits of £4.6 billion and provide NHS savings of £430 million
• Restrictions on the location of unhealthy foods in shops, which are expected to bring health benefits of over £57 billion and provide NHS savings of over £4 billion over the next 25 years
• Introducing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy which has seen the average sugar content of drinks decrease by 46 per cent between 2015 and 2020
• Investment to boost school sport to help children and young people have an active start to life.