Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 August 2023.

Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell launches new partnerships to support access to education in Rwanda.

• Africa Minister to launch new UK partnerships to increase girls’ access to education on visit to Rwanda between 31 August and 2 September
• the Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) programme focuses on keeping girls in school who are at risk of dropping out and supporting children with disabilities
• a Digital Library programme will also increase availability to educational resources in the central African country

Two new education initiatives are set to be launched by the UK’s Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, during a 3-day visit to Rwanda.

Under the UK’s new Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) programme, the minister will sign a 7-year partnership with UNICEF that focuses on keeping girls in school who are at risk of dropping out and supporting children with disabilities.

He will also launch the British Council’s globally renowned Digital Library for the first time in Rwanda. This is part of the UK’s efforts to make educational resources available to all. Access to the library will be free for 12 months and provides over 80,000 resources.

The minister will see the impact of British Investment Partnerships in Rwanda, visiting a water treatment plant that is part of a joint venture between British International Investment (BII) and Metito.

BII supports companies helping developing countries and emerging economies grow. In Rwanda, this focuses on growth in key sectors such as water infrastructure, renewable energy, health, and telecommunications, providing hundreds of local jobs.

The UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said:

During my visit to Rwanda, I will explore the depth and breadth of our relationship. Our 2 countries continue to work together on a range of issues important to both nations, and the region, including climate change and women and girls’ education.

The long-term partnership between the UK and Rwanda is underpinned by our support to help eradicate poverty, educate children, especially girls, and provide British expertise to improve the delivery of public services for all.

Finally, the minister will meet participants of the UK’s development programmes in Rwanda. He will hear how UK funding is helping families to build their resilience and sustainably exit poverty, while students in all primary schools across Rwanda are benefiting by their teachers receiving training in English and maths from UK experts.

High-level discussions will also take place with President of Rwanda Paul Kagame and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta, focusing on bilateral relations and regional issues. Minister Mitchell will also attend Rwanda’s annual gorilla-naming ceremony, Kwita Izina, which aims to highlight conservations efforts to protect these endangered species.

The UK is a committed partner with Rwanda and will build on our economic partnership at the UK-African Investment Summit, which will be held in London in April 2024.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

The UK Minister for Africa condemned the unconstitutional military takeover of power in Gabon and called for the restoration of constitutional government.

Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said:

The UK condemns the unconstitutional military takeover of power in Gabon and calls for the restoration of constitutional government. We acknowledge concerns raised regarding the recent electoral process, including restrictions on media freedom, and urge all parties and citizens to commit to and follow legal and constitutional processes to resolve any electoral disputes. We continue to monitor the situation in Gabon.

Any British nationals in Gabon who need consular support should contact us on +44 20 7008 5000 and sign up for alerts on our travel advice.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

Explanation of vote by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Mali.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 August 2023.

Focus on climate cooperation and development as UK Minister for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan visits Laos and Malaysia.

• Minister for the Indo-Pacific will be in Laos and Malaysia for talks on climate cooperation, regional security and economic development
• Anne-Marie Trevelyan will visit UK-supported charities in Laos aimed at clearing unexploded mines and youth empowerment
• Visits to a green transport project and biodiversity conservation site will also be a focus for Minister Trevelyan while in Malaysia

Regional security, economic development and cooperation on climate issues will be the focus of discussions for UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan during a week-long visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Malaysia from 1 September.

The UK’s Integrated Review Refresh, published in March 2023, made increased engagement with the Indo-Pacific a long-term pillar of the UK’s foreign policy. With over half of global growth projected to come from the Indo-Pacific by 2050, the region is vital to the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the UK’s economy. The UK officially signed its Accession Protocol to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trading bloc (CPTPP) in July 2023. The partnership positions the UK at the heart of the fast growing and dynamic economies across the Indo-Pacific. Minister Trevelyan’s visit to the region follows the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Philippines and China this week.

In Laos, the Minister will visit UK government-supported charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG) International to see their life-saving work clearing unexploded mines. She will meet with the Governor in Xiang Khoang and visit Lone Buffalo centre, a UK-supported development programme aimed at upskilling and empowering young people in Laos.

While in Vientiane, Trevelyan will meet with the Vice-Foreign Minister, H.E Bounleua Phandanouvong, the Minister for Energy and Mines H.E. Phosay Sayasone and Minister for Agriculture and Forestry H.E Phet Phomphiphak to discuss clean energy transition and sustainable growth. The Minister will also visit the Lao Rugby Federation, an organisation that promotes female participation in sports, and English-language teaching charity Lone Buffalo.

Minister Trevelyan will travel to Malaysia on 5 September for engagements focused on security, trade, climate and nature protection, with Malaysia ranked the 12th most biodiverse country in the world.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Minister will meet Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and Deputy Minister of International Trade & Industry Liew Chin Tong to deepen our bilateral cooperation. The Minister will also deliver a speech on businesses and climate action at the Climate Governance Summit SME Workshop event.

She will meet the Sarawak community indigenous to Borneo, where she will tour a refuelling site for hydrogen-powered buses, and see biodiversity conservation in action with a visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.

Ahead of the visit, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

We must work together with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to address the shared global challenge of climate change.

Through our partnerships in Laos and Malaysia, the UK is supporting sustainable growth and accelerating the clean energy transition to secure a resilient and prosperous future.

As Laos prepares to take up ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024, the UK will continue working with partners across the region to advance prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly addressed the International Crimea Platform Summit 2023 via a pre-recorded video.

Thank you, President Zelenskyy, for bringing us together for this important discussion.

When you established the International Crimea Platform two years ago, the UK committed its support to this important initiative to strengthen the global response against Russia’s illegal annexation.

Our commitment to that undertaking hasn’t just endured, it has increased.

Two years ago, none of us imagined the challenges we would all now face.

But we have risen to the occasion, no one more so than the Ukrainian people.

We are more united, more determined and more emboldened than ever before.

As Crimea is a crucial part of the focus on Ukraine, it is only right that it remains at the centre of our discussions.

As with Russia’s wider presence in Ukraine, it is civilians who have had to bear the brunt in Crimea.

Houses searched, arbitrary arrests, illegal conscription, continuous abductions and reports of torture have revealed Putin’s chilling indifference to human life.

You don’t liberate a country by sending its children to re-educations camps abroad. You don’t free people by suppression, subjugation, and the curtailing of democracy.

The moral contract between Kyiv and the Kremlin is stark.

Ukraine offers democracy, Russia tyranny.

Ukraine strives to protect human rights. Russia disregards them.

Like our Ukrainian friends, the UK works tirelessly to promote and protect human rights in Crimea by supporting human rights defenders and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.

Together, we will hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses to account. Just as we will hold Putin to account for withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative – an act that deprives the world’s most vulnerable of desperately needed food and supplies.

Be in no doubt, the UK and the international community will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, or any Ukrainian territory, and will stand with you for as long as it takes.

Let me end by wishing Ukraine a happy Independence Day for tomorrow. Your defiance, your strength and your resilience are an inspiration to us all.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 August 2023.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 August 2023.

The Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, met Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo during a visit to Philippines on 29 August.

The Foreign Secretary met Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo in Manila today (29 August) to sign a Statement of Intent on the UK-Philippines Enhanced Partnership. The Enhanced Partnership will drive co-operation on maritime security, renewable energy and trade.

The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK’s commitment to ASEAN stability and prosperity, and thanked Foreign Minister Manalo for the Philippines’s support for the UK’s Dialogue Partnership. The Foreign Secretary expressed the UK’s strong support for ASEAN’s effort on Myanmar.

The foreign ministers also discussed key regional issues of mutual concern, including regional stability in the Indo-Pacific. On maritime security, the Foreign Secretary stressed the importance of upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary agreed with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Manalo that any negotiated settlement should deliver a just and sustainable peace, based on the principles of the UN Charter.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 August 2023.

The Foreign Secretary is visiting China on Wednesday 30 August for high-level talks with senior representatives from the Chinese government.

• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Beijing tomorrow.
• He will look to further UK national interests including cyber, international security and human rights
• As well as cooperating to face global problems such as climate change.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is travelling to Beijing to strengthen channels of communication to further and protect British interests as set out in his Mansion House speech.

In the speech in April, the Foreign Secretary set out the UK’s multifaceted approach to China across three pillars.   First, to protect national security whenever Beijing poses a threat to UK people or prosperity, second, to align cooperation with friends and allies in the Indo-Pacific and across the world to uphold international law, and third, to engage directly with China to promote stable relations.

Now, in the first visit of a UK Foreign Secretary for over five years, James Cleverly will hold bilateral meetings with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, and Vice President Han Zheng.

Issues such as climate change cannot be tackled without China – as the world’s largest investor in sustainable energy and the largest emitter of carbon, the choices that China makes are critical to our collective ability to tackle this global problem.

The Foreign Secretary will say that China’s global significance comes with a responsibility on international security – helping to end Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, diffusing tensions in the South China Sea and ceasing malign activity in cyberspace.

During his visit, the Foreign Secretary will raise Beijing’s human rights obligations, including in relation to communities in Xinjiang and Tibet. He will also challenge China on the erosion of autonomy, rights and freedoms in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, as well as other UK interests including the sanctions placed on UK MPs.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

“It is important we manage our relationship with China across a range of issues.

“No significant global problem – from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic instability to nuclear proliferation – can be solved without China.

“China’s size, history and global significance means they cannot be ignored, but that comes with a responsibility on the global stage. That responsibility means China fulfilling its international commitments and obligations”.

It is important to have discussions face to face and raise these issues directly with the centre of the Chinese system, making clear the UK’s position with the decision makers in Beijing. This approach is in line with that of international partners, such as the recent visits of Five Eyes and European partners.

The engagements come after a visit to the Philippines, where the Foreign Secretary held talks on a range of subjects including maritime security, climate and trade.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 August 2023.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit the Philippines and meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit the Philippines to discuss the new UK-Philippines Enhanced Partnership
• Cleverly will meet Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and visit the Philippines Coast Guard
• visit continues engagement with Indo-Pacific partners following commitment in Integrated Review Refresh to build enduring partnerships

The UK is set to deepen its relationship with the Philippines, as the Foreign Secretary travels to Manila for trade and security talks in the region.

In Manila, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo to discuss how to further strengthen the UK-Philippines Enhanced Partnership. The partnership was launched in December 2021 to increase UK-Philippines collaboration on key areas including climate and environment, trade, maritime security and foreign policy.

Since then, the UK has launched British Investment Partnerships (BIP) to support resilient growth and held an inaugural maritime dialogue on marine conservation and maritime security.

The Foreign Secretary will also visit the Philippines Coast Guard to discuss cooperation on maritime security, counter terrorism and environmental protection.

He will also reiterate the necessity of upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the interests of global stability and the protection of maritime trade routes.

Around 60% of global shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific region, directly benefiting households and businesses in the UK and worldwide.

As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the Indo-Pacific is of critical importance to the UK’s future security and to the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the UK’s economy. With over half of global growth set to come from the Indo-Pacific by 2050, the region is home to thriving economies, cutting-edge science and tech as well as being on the frontline of global challenges like climate change. The UK is working with the Philippines and other likeminded partners to safeguard security and prosperity across the region.

Ahead of the visit Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

“I’m delighted to visit the Philippines for the first time, a place which shares common values and interests with the UK.

“We are expanding our areas of collaboration by growing our trade and investment through British Investment Partnerships and deepening cooperation on security, maritime and climate.”

The UK-Philippines partnership is working for both countries, rooted in our shared commitment to safeguarding freedom and democracy, and ensuring our future prosperity. The visit will be the Foreign Secretary’s third time travelling to southeast Asia in his role, following travel to Singapore in 2022 and Indonesia in July 2023 for the ASEAN Foreign Minister’s meeting.

It also follows his Indo-Pacific tour to Japan and the Pacific Islands earlier in the year, where the Foreign Secretary reiterated the importance of securing a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Background

• the UK-Philippines Enhanced Partnership was launched in 2021. Read more about the work taking place under the Partnership including dialogues on trade and investment, climate change and the launch of British Investment Partnerships in the Philippines.
• during the Foreign Secretary’s visit he will sign a Statement of Intent to upgrade the UK-Philippines Enhanced Partnership alongside Foreign Secretary Manalo.

The press release issued by the Northern Ireland Office on 28 August 2023.

Secretary of State hears plans for the upcoming Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025