Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2025.

Statement by Legal Adviser Colin McIntyre at the UN Security Council meeting on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

Today’s briefing occurs at an important time for the Mechanism.  

In the first half of 2026 Council Members will engage in detailed discussions on the future of the Mechanism.  

Whilst the details of those discussions will take place over the months ahead there are some general principles which, in our view, should guide the work of the Council.

First, and as the Council has agreed previously, the Mechanism should be a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose functions and size diminish over time and whose staffing and structure should be commensurate with those functions. 

Given the completion of the Mechanism’s core crimes work, it is natural and appropriate that, in future, the Mechanism should be a substantially smaller institution than has been the case to date.  

This would be reflective of the truly residual nature of the institution at this later stage in the justice cycle.

In order to achieve this, it would be appropriate to transfer certain functions currently performed by the Mechanism either to States or to other institutional structures. 

The UK is grateful for the work which the Mechanism and the principals have already undertaken in assessing how this could be achieved in practice.  

We are pleased that there appears to be a considerable degree of agreement between the Prosecutor, President and Secretary General on this matter.  

This is welcome and provides a strong starting point for the work that lies ahead.

There will, of course, be a range of proposals and we stand ready to consider those.

However, to comment briefly on a specific example, the UK can see a strong case for the transfer of work relating to the provision of assistance to national jurisdictions away from the Mechanism.  

Such work remains valuable, as is attested to, by the ongoing demand for this assistance from States.  

But such a workstream may not need to be provided by the Mechanism as currently structured. 

Nonetheless, Mr President, it is also clear that some functions will, of necessity, need to remain at the international level.  

This includes certain judicial functions, for instance, where there is a need for consistency in decision-making.  

As we move ahead with this work, we look forward to receiving the upcoming OIOS and Secretary General reports, which we are confident will prove of assistance to Council Members.

In relation to the archives, we agree with the principle that, where possible, these should be housed as close as possible to affected communities.  

We hope and expect that this will prove to be the case in respect of the archives of the ICTR.  

We hope the same will also apply to the archives of the ICTY and, at minimum, we see a good case for these to be located in Europe.

Finally, and on a different note, we wish to extend our gratitudes to the Mechanism for facilitating a visit by representatives of Council Members to the UN Detention Unit in The Hague during this reporting period.  

This enabled Council members to see for themselves the fully satisfactory nature of the provision there.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2025.

The British High Commission has announced that construction on the new buildings have started at the existing site in Nicosia.

Our historic site, which was formerly part of the Central Prisons’ compound, will soon house a new, fit-for-purpose, eco-friendly High Commission, which will better symbolise the strong and growing partnership between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Cyprus. 

The €40 million-plus project – the largest current project on the UK’s diplomatic estate – constitutes a mark of confidence in the strength of the bilateral relationship. And with the prime contractor being the Cypriot-owned firm Atlas Pantou, it is also a significant British investment into the Cypriot economy.

Ground was broken in December and is the project is expected to be completed by November 2028. The project consists of a new High Commission office building, a security facility and a new Residence for the High Commissioner. The new compound will be carbon-neutral, contributing to Cyprus’ efforts to reduce emissions in our common fight to tackle the climate crisis.

The existing High Commission buildings will continue to be functional until the opening of our new building. While there will be new temporary access points for visitors, our services will not be interrupted.

British High Commissioner Michael Tatham, said:

“Any new construction represents change and a departure from the past. We see this as a massive upgrade, reflecting the value that the UK attaches to its strong partnership with  the Republic of Cyprus. We are looking forward to seeing a new High Commission take shape – and to inviting our many Cypriot friends and partners to see it soon.”

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2025.

Ambassador Holland highlights the intensification of Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure in 2025, despite ongoing peace negotiations. He reiterates the UK’s grave concern and calls for Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, cease its aggression, and engage seriously in negotiations.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As we conclude the FSC’s work for 2025, the United Kingdom reiterates its grave concern at Russia’s ongoing campaign against Ukraine. Each winter since 2022, we have cited independent sources detailing Russia’s pattern of targeting of civilians and critical infrastructure. This year, that pattern has intensified. 

Despite ongoing peace negotiations, Russia has escalated its attacks. Three data points make this very clear: 

In 2025 Russia has killed over 2,200 Ukrainian civilians and injured more than 11,000. This is a 27% increase in casualties compared to last year.  

Since Russia sent a delegation to the first bilateral talks with Ukraine in mid-May, it has launched the 35 largest air attacks of the entire war.  

And from June to November, Russian drones fired have averaged over 5,300 a month. This is more than five times the 2024 monthly average.  

This is not the conduct of a state seeking peace. That is why, at the Ministerial Council last week, our Minister said: “we are committed to holding Russia to account – for its illegal, unprovoked, and unjustifiable war against Ukraine; for the forced deportations of innocent children; and for unlawfully detaining civilians, including, as has been referenced, three members of this organisation’s staff.” 

Mr Chair, the UK hopes that this is the last time we sit at this Forum against the backdrop of Russia’s war. As we have established clearly in this Forum, the only obstruction to peace is Russia’s continued willingness to fight a war of aggression that it started. A war which continues to cause misery and death on our continent. 

The path to peace remains clear.  It is a path that Russia must choose. It must choose to return to full compliance with international law and the Helsinki Final Act. It must choose to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And it must choose to cease its attacks, withdraw all of its forces from all of Ukraine, and to engage seriously in negotiations. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2025.

Statement by Ambassador Archie Young, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.

Today, I will focus on three of the key points that were raised by our briefers: first, on the appalling erosion of rights in Afghanistan, secondly, on the dire humanitarian situation, and thirdly, on how the UN process can drive progress. 

Today, as we observe International Human Rights Day, the promise of universal rights in Afghanistan remains tragically unfulfilled. 

Over the four years of the Taliban’s rule, repression has intensified. Over a hundred edicts have systematically eroded the rights of Afghan women and girls. Girls cannot attend school after the age of 12, and for more than three months, the Taliban has banned women from working at UN offices.

The UK Government unequivocally condemns this appalling erosion of women and girls’ rights, and we urge its immediate reversal.

In October, UK officials travelled to Kabul to press the Taliban to reverse these barbaric decrees.

The international community must unite against the Taliban’s assault on human rights. We must not abandon half of Afghanistan’s population.

Second, the humanitarian situation. As winter approaches, the humanitarian needs in Afghanistan remain dire. As today’s briefers set out, in 2026, an estimated 21.9 million people – 45 per cent of the Afghan population – will require humanitarian assistance. 

The UK continues to work to support the country’s most vulnerable, especially women and girls. We remain a major donor, allocating up to $201 million in the financial year of 2025/26 for vital life-saving and basic services. 

We are deeply concerned by the deteriorating food security and nutrition situation as evidenced by the recent IPC forecasts. In the context of reducing funding for Afghanistan, we collectively must do everything possible to ensure life-saving assistance is available to the most vulnerable.

And third, the UN process. The UK continues to engage with the UN-led process, including the “Comprehensive Approach.” Strong UN leadership is essential to drive this process forward, and we therefore hope to see the next SRSG at the earliest opportunity.  

However, our support for the Comprehensive Approach depends on the Taliban taking meaningful steps and adhering to their international obligations, especially those related to counter terrorism and the rights of women and girls.

As our Foreign Secretary recently said, ‘there cannot be peace, security or prosperity without women playing their part, free from violence and free from fear’.

That is the principle which must underpin Afghanistan’s future.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2025.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the UN Humanitarian General Debate.

Humanitarian needs have reached historic levels: conflict, climate shocks and displacement have left 305 million people in need of life-saving support. 

The United Kingdom is on course to provide over $1 billion in humanitarian assistance this financial year.

Yet, as global needs escalate, overall funding falls short, and protection risks continue to rise. 

Meeting these challenges demands bold and principled action.

First, we need a humanitarian system fit for the future.

The UK strongly supports the Humanitarian Reset and the UN80 initiative. 

Reform must deliver a measurable impact for those most in need.

We are championing prioritised and localised action, supporting UN humanitarian pooled funds, scaling up cash assistance, and empowering local actors. 

This includes funding, capacity building and protection; for example, our support to Sudan’s Mutual Aid Movement, including locally led Emergency Response Rooms – a model for the future of locally driven humanitarian response.

Second, international humanitarian law must be upheld.

This is essential in protecting civilians, ensuring humanitarian access and safeguarding those delivering life-saving assistance. 

Last year saw the highest number of humanitarian personnel deaths, the majority of whom were local staff. This is unacceptable. 

The United Kingdom was proud to co-launch the Political Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel alongside Australia and other partners. 

We also joined the Global IHL Initiative, spearheaded by ICRC, and are co-leading a Workstream on National IHL Committees.

In April, we launched a Conflict, Hunger and IHL Handbook. Yet we must all go further. 

It is appalling that two famines – in Gaza and Sudan – are raging in the 21st century. 

Third, we must invest in prevention and resilience.

Well over 90% of global humanitarian resources go to protracted crises. 

We can and must work across the humanitarian, climate, peace and development systems to build long-term resilience and reduce humanitarian need.

We must also prepare for foreseeable shocks. The UK continues to champion pre-arranged finance.  

Following Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica accessed $242 million from insurance and catastrophe bonds, as well as anticipatory funding from global mechanisms like CERF and the Disaster Response Emergency Fund. 

Demonstrating our support for this approach, this year the UK committed $77 million to pre-arranged finance.

President, we cannot just recommend change, we need to deliver it. 

We must work together to make sure we have the information and data needed to hold us to account and make sure we are delivering to those most in need.

In this regard, we would like to thank Sweden for their facilitation and tireless efforts to maintain consensus on the Humanitarian Omnibus resolution. 

This resolution is the cornerstone humanitarian text, encapsulating Member States expectations for the UN and partners’ humanitarian operations. 

We regret actions have been taken to undermine the text, and we support Sweden’s difficult decision to maintain its integrity.

The UK remains committed to working across the membership to ensure we continue to send a strong, unified message to the humanitarian system at this critical time.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 December 2025.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Yesterday, my Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy, President Macron and Chancellor Merz in London for talks in which we recommitted our support to safeguarding Ukraine’s long-term security, sovereignty, and prosperity. The United Kingdom supports efforts, led by the US, to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, including robust security guarantees, in line with the principles of the UN Charter. 

This is a war that President Putin started and could, if he wished, end at any time by ceasing his full-scale invasion. We continue to hope that Russia will engage seriously with peace talks. But, despite the genuine efforts of partners to mediate, Russia’s campaign against Ukraine has only intensified in its brutality.

The facts speak for themselves. Between 18 November and 4 December, Russia launched nearly 3,000 drones and over 110 missiles at Ukrainian cities. This is a repeated pattern of Russian behaviour, while President Putin claims he is engaging in good faith in peace talks.

Since rejecting Ukraine’s offer of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on 11 March, Russia has killed over 1,850 Ukrainian civilians. And since peace talks began in May, Russia has launched the largest air attacks of the entire war.

These are not the actions of a country sincerely interested – as President Putin claimed in August – in paving a path towards peace.

The UN has reported this year that an estimated 12.7 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian support. Russia’s strikes not only directly kill civilians, but worsen a dire humanitarian crisis.

Since the start of October, Russia has launched nine mass air attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, reducing Ukraine’s energy production capacity by 40% and causing nationwide blackouts lasting up to 16 hours a day. This is a deliberate weaponisation of winter, plunging homes into freezing darkness and putting millions of vulnerable Ukrainian civilians at risk.

We support President Trump and President Zelenskyy’s efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. How many more civilians have to die before Russia accepts a ceasefire?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 December 2025.

Two tech companies based in China have been sanctioned for reckless and indiscriminate cyberattacks.

• UK exposes two China-based companies that have carried out cyberattacks against the UK and its allies
• New sanctions clamp down on attempts to undermine UK security and prosperity
• Sanctioned businesses had launched global cyberattacks against over 80 government and private industry IT systems

Two tech companies based in China have been sanctioned today [Tuesday 9 December] for reckless and indiscriminate cyberattacks:

• Sichuan Anxun Information Technology Co. Ltd (known as i-Soon) for targeting over 80 government and private industry IT systems across the world, and for supporting others planning to carry out malicious cyber activity.
• Integrity Technology Group Incorporated (known as Integrity Tech) for controlling and managing a covert cyber network and providing technical assistance for others to carry out cyberattacks. Targets have included UK public sector IT systems.

I-Soon and Integrity Tech are examples of the threat posed by the cyber industry in China, which includes information security companies, data brokers (that collect and sell personal data), and ‘hackers for hire’. Some of these companies provide cyber services to the Chinese intelligence services.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assesses that it is almost certain that this ‘ecosystem’ or complex network of private sector actors, supports Chinese state-linked cyber operations. 

The announcement follows the August 2025 exposure by the UK and international partners of three China-based companies linked to the cyber-espionage campaign known as SALT TYPHOON. Combined, they highlight the vast scale of cyberattacks by China-based companies targeting governments, telecommunications, military institutions, and public services worldwide.

These cyberattacks from unrestrained actors in China go against agreed UN cyber principles. The measures announced today are designed to reduce the risk of such threats to the UK’s security and broader international stability.

As the Prime Minister set out recently in a speech at the Guildhall, protecting our security is non-negotiable and the first duty of the government. The UK recognises that China poses a series of threats to UK national security. China is also a fellow permanent member of the UN Security Council, the world’s second largest economy and a nuclear power which has delivered almost a third of global economic growth over the past decade. We challenge threats robustly, enabling us to pursue cooperation where it is in our interest.

Notes to Editors

• In August 2025, the UK alongside 12 other countries co-sealed a cyber security advisory linking China-based technology companies to some of the activities associated with a China state-affiliated APT group (commonly known as SALT TYPHOON). These companies are: Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. Ltd, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co., and Sichuan Zhixin Ruije Network Technology Co. Ltd.
• This activity targeted governments, telecommunications, transportation, and military infrastructure globally, and sought to provide Chinese intelligence services with the capability to identify and track targets’ communications and movements worldwide.
• Together with France, the UK continues to lead the Pall Mall Process, an international initiative which seeks to establish a framework for responsible behaviour for those involved in the rapidly growing market in commercial cyber intrusion capabilities.
• The UK has consistently promoted the UN normative framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. The UK remains the first and only country to publish guidelines for its National Cyber Force detailing the principles that we adhere to.  We firmly believe that states should use cyber capabilities in a responsible manner, whether commercial or otherwise.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 December 2025.

The UK will host a key peacebuilding conference next year to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine.

• Foreign Secretary to host Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders in March next year to focus on delivering sustainable peace 
• Meeting at Lancaster House will support the establishment of an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine
• UK to use peacebuilding expertise from Northern Ireland and ongoing Western Balkans work to support Middle East efforts

The UK will host a key peacebuilding conference on 12 March next year to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine.

The conference at Lancaster House will bring together civil society leaders from across the region and delivers on the Prime Minister’s pledge to host the event and set up a fund which can provide the long-term finance that is required for peacebuilding efforts to deliver genuine change.

October’s US-led ceasefire agreement – and President Trump’s 20-Point Plan – have presented a critical opportunity to achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East. All living hostages have since been released and the UK continues to push for the remaining deceased hostage to be returned. Gradually, more aid is getting into Gaza but much more needs to be done and the UK is pressing for all restrictions to be lifted so that humanitarian supplies can be delivered at the pace and volume required, especially with winter drawing in. 

Civil society organisations in Israel and Palestine have a vital role to play in reinforcing the forward momentum of recent months. Over the past year, the UK has been working with partners on the ground and internationally to ensure that civil society groups are ready to take the lead in advancing long-term stability, and driving progress towards a two-state solution, with peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. 

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

After two years of the most horrendous suffering, the US-led ceasefire agreement has now been in place for two months. But it remains highly fragile, and there is still a long journey ahead to implement the 20-point plan endorsed by the United Nations, and achieve a just and lasting peace. 

This conference will be a crucial step in that journey, bringing together representatives of Palestinian and Israeli civil society to build common ground between their communities, challenge entrenched divisions, and work towards a future where both states can live side-by-side in peace and security. 

With the UK’s experience of the reconciliation process in Northern Ireland and our ongoing support for peacebuilding in Western Balkans, we are well placed to host and facilitate these talks, and the new International Peace Fund we are helping to create will provide the practical support to drive this work forward.

The UK- hosted meeting will bring together international peacebuilding expertise and civil society organisations from the Middle East, to map existing peace-building work and support the establishment of an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine. 

Discussions will focus on the practical steps that the Peace Fund can best support, and the best practice that can be learned from other similar initiatives, including the International Fund for Ireland that helped support dialogue and reconciliation between unionist and nationalist communities more than a decade before the Good Friday Agreement. The fund will support activities that bring Israelis and Palestinians together to reduce violence, build trust, and create the conditions for a lasting and just peace.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 December 2025.

UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra delivered a keynote speech at the 2025 Indo-Pacific Conference hosted by King’s College London.

Thank you, Professor Kapur.

And also to the High Commissioners of India, Singapore and Australia for bringing us here with King’s College today.

And a particular thank you to Your Excellency Stephen Smith. With your posting coming to an end, we are grateful to you for your huge contribution and indeed your thought leadership on the Indo-Pacific. And thank you to you all for joining today.

Before I begin I want to acknowledge what I know will be on many of our minds – the deadly storms that have caused horrific devastation across the region – particularly Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and also Vietnam and India. We have been talking to our partners over recent days about what support may be needed and closely monitoring the situation. I know our thoughts will be with all those affected.

Now much has changed since the first Indo-Pacific Forum in 2023. The world has become increasingly fragmented, and the Indo-Pacific stands at the coalface. So, this year’s theme, rethinking cooperation, couldn’t be more timely.

Against a backdrop of uncertainty and fragmentation, leaders in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic must come together to forge new partnerships and strengthen our ties.

To support that, I want to share three reflections: why the Indo-Pacific matters to the UK, what we’ve achieved together, and why we must build on these foundations for the future.

Why the Indo-Pacific matters

As I speak first on why it matters to us, let me just say a few words about the context for where we are. I’m proud that since Labour came into power, that our focus in Government has been stability for growth.

And alongside this, rebuilding trust and relationships with nations – in the EU and across the world, recognising the importance in today’s world of being an outward facing nation.

Because partnerships are the bedrock for security and prosperity.  

It is only together that we can stand up for the rule of law, for rules-based trade, for fundamental freedoms, to shape a more open global economy.

This is why the relationship between the Indo Pacific region and the UK matters. It is a region of growing political and economic power and one of two regions, beyond the Euro-Atlantic, that we set out as a priority in our National Security Strategy.

We know that by 2050, more than half of global growth will come from the Indo-Pacific. You can already see progress in tech start-ups transforming healthcare with AI diagnostics, governments digitising public services to reach millions, and industries shaping solutions for climate adaptation.

But there are geopolitical and geoeconomic forces that pose significant challenges. As you know all too well, we’re entering a new era of growing great power competition.  

That means greater competition and more volatility, making it more important than ever to strengthen international law and the rules-based system that keeps us all secure.  

There will be challenges, not least in the field of security. NATO and European security remain critically important, but our priorities and responsibilities do not end with NATO.

The Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific security contexts are indivisible.

Take Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which caused food bills in Europe and Asia to skyrocket.

Or take maritime security – because rising tensions in the South China Sea threaten global trade and stability, with as much as a third of global maritime trade passing through this route. We cannot risk that – if the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is undermined anywhere, it is undermined everywhere.

And take the challenge of climate change, because how we work together will determine whether we succeed on our goals. 

And we cannot succeed as a global community without our partners in the Indo-Pacific, home to some of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world.

That’s why the UK maintains an enduring commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Because it’s together that we can tackle regional challenges and global issues, whether through close bilateral ties, through defence and security partnerships like AUKUS and Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Japan and Italy, through plurilateral agreements like CPTPP, or alongside regional institutions such as ASEAN, which has been at the heart of peace and prosperity for over fifty years. Our approach must be to achieve shared prosperity through shared security.

Nowhere is this clearer than our approach towards China.

Because how we engage today will shape our security, prosperity and influence for decades to come.

That’s why the UK will take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing our relationship with China.

It is an approach rooted firmly in our global interests. Strong on security, and strong on the economy too.

Since coming into power, we’ve re-established high-level dialogue – from the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Xi at the G20, to relaunching climate cooperation, trade talks and science partnerships.

But we know that national security is the first duty of any government.

So where we need to challenge China, we will do so – confidently and transparently.

And where we need to cooperate with China we will do so, such as in global health and climate change.

Investing in partnerships

That brings me to my second point – how we have invested in our partnerships over the past twelve months to build stability, security and prosperity for the benefit of the people in our countries.

Let me start with India where I visited most recently.

My visit last week, a month after the Prime Minister, recognised the growing ambition –for collaboration following the success of the recently signed free trade agreement, which is set to boost bilateral trade by over £25bn.

I heard from British companies excited to seize the opportunities – including businesses already thriving in India like Tesco, Revolut, BT and Marks and Spencer. And Indian businesses alike looking for new opportunities.

More broadly, the UK and India’s shared ‘Vision 2035’ is our commitment to face the future together, strengthening collaboration on our shared priorities. And that spirit of partnership and ambition for each other’s future is a thread that connects us across the region.

On my first overseas visit as Minister, I travelled to Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.

I saw first-hand how our deep partnerships with the Royal Brunei, Singapore, and Malaysian Armed Forces, and our permanent naval presence through HMS SPEY and HMS TAMAR, stand ready to support partners and respond to a range of crises across the region.

This year we’ve strengthened those ties with visits to the British Forces Brunei Garrison by His Majesty The Sultan, the Singapore Navy’s RSS Formidable docking in London, HMS Prince of Wales docking in Singapore as part of the multinational Carrier Strike Group deployment, and joint exercising with our Five Power Defence Arrangements partners.

While in Singapore celebrating 60 years of our relations, I saw our Strategic Partnership coming to life through engagements with government, business, thinkers and young people.

With Minister Gan we spoke about Singapore becoming Chair of ASEAN in 2027, the year the UK will host the G20.

ASEAN is set to be the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030.

And during my visit to Malaysia, I opened the first UK-ASEAN AI Innovation Summit.

Under Malaysia’s Chairship, ASEAN has articulated an ambitious agenda that places digital innovation and artificial intelligence at the forefront of the region’s growth strategy.

And back here in the UK, I welcomed the first cohort of ASEAN Chevening Scholars and met with the ASEAN London Committee, reaffirming our commitment to education and dialogue at every level, and the importance of people to people ties that will keep us connected for generations to come.

In October we also elevated our bilateral relationship with Vietnam to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

This milestone strengthens six key pillars of cooperation, from migration to clean energy transition, ensuring our partnership delivers real impact across the region.

I’m proud that next year marks five years since the UK became an ASEAN Dialogue Partner – and that I was able to join with the ASEAN London Committee and guests in marking Timor-Leste’s accession recently.

The UK’s dialogue partnership with ASEAN continues to go from strength to strength: with UK-ASEAN trade surpassing £50 billion, an increase of nearly 10% over the past year alone; our strong support for ASEAN centrality, key to protecting a prosperous, stable, free and open Indo-Pacific; and last year, the UK was the region’s top European foreign direct investor.

Next year, the UK will work alongside our private sector to strengthen cooperation on initiatives ranging from the ASEAN Power Grid to the implementation of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement.

We will also continue to champion the creative economy – a priority sector for ASEAN and the UK – while deepening ties between our people through programmes such as the ASEAN Chevening Scholarship. Young people, skills and education are the bedrock of the health and future success of all of our relationships.

And we will negotiate the next UK–ASEAN Plan of Action, setting the framework for our cooperation through to 2030.

Let me also say a few words about Japan following last week’s visit of the Keidanren for the first time in ten years, with a focus on trade and investment for the future – another example of that ambition, with a partnership that continues to go from strength to strength.

In March, we held the inaugural dialogue between our Economic and Foreign Ministers to support growth and resilience. We have also signed new economic security and industrial partnerships.

This summer, when the UK’s Carrier Strike Group also visited Tokyo, it was a clear demonstration of our commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, while F-15 fighters from Japan came to the UK for the first time as part of the Atlantic Eagles deployment.

Today, trade and foreign policy go hand in hand. And collaborating in new ways matters.

With the indivisibility of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific we’ve also stepped up our coordination with France, Germany and the EU in the region – including joint maritime security efforts with France in the Indian Ocean.

We’re getting on and delivering AUKUS, which is supporting security and stability in both regions.

That commitment was clear at UNGA, where the Foreign Secretary sat down with counterparts from both regions to show that unity matters in a fragmented world and to push forward on the big issues we all share, like keeping our seas safe, tackling hybrid threats, strengthening economic security and fighting climate change.

Building on strong foundations

And that brings me to my third and final theme – how and why as we re-think cooperation in a fragmented world, we build on these strong foundations going forward.

It’s something that is integral to my work across the region.

And indeed, in my short visit to the Maldives from where I returned on Tuesday, I held a dinner with senior Maldivian representatives along with representatives from India, Australia, the US and Japan based there. We shared insights and perspectives, and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about the commitment to investing in our shared prosperity and security and the importance of how we rethink the respective strengths we can bring and how we combine those strengths in our shared interest.

It was a useful opportunity to also reflect on conversations with our Australian and New Zealand counterparts – some of my very first conversations in my role. I am grateful for those, and the perspectives that they particularly shared about small island developing states.

Central to those conversations is how we can work in partnership with Pacific Island Countries to support their priorities. Our partnerships – both bilateral and through Pacific institutions like the Pacific Islands Forum – give us the platform to work together on the big challenges like tackling climate change, countering cyber threats, and building economic resilience and growth.

Our Global Strategic Partnership with the Republic of Korea is important for both nations from growth and defence to AI and the energy transition, with work on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement set to deepen ties between Korean and British businesses.

And we’re strengthening relationships between industry, parliamentarians and academics through our High-Level Forum.

Having acceded to CPTPP last December, we support its continued growth, including potential accession discussions with partners like Indonesia and the Philippines.

Last November, the UK and Indonesia agreed to establish a new strategic partnership spanning trade, green growth and innovation, security and other shared interests. 

In line with that vision, the Prime Minister and President Prabowo announced last week a new Maritime Partnership Programme, reinvigorating defence collaboration and supporting Indonesia’s fishing industry and coastal communities. I look forward to the concrete steps we will take together as we finalise this agreement.

Conclusion

So let me conclude by reaffirming the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.

This region matters – for our growth, for our security, for the climate – and we’re determined to build a reputation as a trusted partner for the long haul.

Because for us, this isn’t about short-term headlines. It’s a generational mission, a long-term strategic posture that will shape the decades ahead.

Rethinking co-operation is a matter for all of us, not just to how we survive in a fragmented world, but how we work towards a less fragmented and more secure world of the future.

I look forward to our discussion now, and to working together on shared challenges and also the important opportunities we must seize that lie ahead.

Thank you.