Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

The UK and the US state of Washington will today [25 September] sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost trade and investment.

• Washington State, home to major businesses like Boeing and Amazon, becomes latest US state to agree trade Memorandum of Understanding with the UK
• The UK now has deals with six US states with a combined GDP of more than £2 trillion
• Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani to travel to Seattle to sign the pact, which targets the aerospace sector, and lead 35 hand-picked UK companies at a joint Boeing and Department for Business and Trade showcase

The UK and the US state of Washington will today [25 September] sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost trade and investment.

Washington State is home to major US business including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft and Boeing, and has a GDP roughly equivalent to Poland. The MoU marks the sixth delivered as part of the UK’s state-level strategy to boost trade with the US and means that the combined GDP of states the UK has MoUs with now totals £2.2 trillion.

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani will sign the pact in Seattle alongside Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.

The UK has signed MoUs with Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and now Washington. Collectively these states imported £5.1 billion of UK goods in 2022.

The Government is actively engaging with further states including Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, and Illinois.

Minister Ghani will also lead a delegation of 35 UK businesses attending the 2023 Boeing Supplier Showcase, handpicked by Boeing to meet with their procurement and supply chain teams. The event will showcase the best of the UK’s world leading aerospace industry as it continues to drive innovation through new technology, research and design.

Aerospace will be a priority sector under the MoU, which seeks to facilitate more deals between UK and Washington State.

Boeing has spent over £12 billion in the UK supply chain since 2015. Its most recent investment, a £80 million composite research facility in Sheffield, will establish new long-term partnerships and supply chains.

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said:

Our pact with the state of Washington is a win for the UK, opening a door for our businesses to trade more openly and unlock new opportunities in key sectors.

Each US state is a massive global market in its own right, and many have economies larger than the GDP of whole countries. By notching up our sixth such deal we’ve surpassed the £2 trillion mark for combined GDP of states who’ve done a deal with the UK, with many more in our sights.

This particular deal will be fantastic for our aerospace industry through investor intros, trade missions, and increasing access to procurement markets. I’m delighted to join Boeing and our handpicked group of innovative UK companies to discuss how Government and industry can work together to create jobs and grow the economy.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said:

Today’s MOU makes the UK Washington’s latest global partner in trade and innovation focused on clean technology and industry.

Washington is a leader in sustainable aerospace and aviation, attracting billions in new investments across the state’s urban and rural areas, boosting local economies while slashing our carbon emissions.

We can’t ebb the tide of climate change and usher in this new future all on our own, it takes partnerships all over the world like the one announced today to realize our full economic potential and help curb carbon emissions worldwide.

Maria Laine, President of Boeing in the UK, Ireland and Nordic region said:

We are immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with the UK. Working closely with the UK Government, ADS and other key partners, we remain committed to developing and expanding the UK supply chain and creating opportunities for collaboration across Boeing’s global programmes.

The MoU will strengthen the trade relationship between the UK and Washington. It will unlock new opportunities to develop new commercial partnerships, facilitate capital investment, foster innovation, and support global decarbonisation.

Other priority areas include clean energy, digital, life sciences, supply chain resilience, agriculture, and innovation. It further seeks to broaden market access in areas such as government procurement and recognition of professional qualifications – to help Brits deliver services in Washington and vice versa.

Matt Farnsworth, Commercial Director at the University of Sheffield AMRC, who are attending the trade show, said:

As a research organisation, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has always found trade missions organised by the Department for Business and Trade to be extremely valuable. They provide a fantastic opportunity to broaden and strengthen existing industrial relationships and ecosystems, while developing new opportunities for collaboration.

Despite having a close research relationship with Boeing for over 20 years, previous missions have successfully opened new, exciting opportunities for the AMRC with a number of Boeing business units and technology owners, we hadn’t previously engaged with.

The AMRC is playing a key role in driving innovation, research and development for UK manufacturing, especially for the aerospace sector. The upcoming Boeing trade mission will further fuel and accelerate our journey to make the UK a world-leader for sustainable manufacturing in aerospace.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement by Minister Andrew Mitchell at the UN Financing for Development High-level Dialogue.

Excellencies,

Our Prime Minister, at the G20, announced that Britain will provide 2 billion dollars for the Green Climate Fund – the biggest single commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change.

And Britain continues to want bigger, better Multilateral Development Banks. The UK supports, in due course, a conditional capital increase for the IBRD. We have provided more than 4.5 million pounds of guarantees to enable the Multilateral Development Banks to lend more money. We are also extremely focussed on sweating these Banks’ balance sheets. We have already seen an additional 200 billion dollars produced, and we want to see much more.

In addition, Britain is very focussed on the issues of debt. At the Summit in Paris, Britain announced Climate Resilient Debt Clauses, which we are now using, and which means that countries faced with a pandemic or natural disaster have their liquidity freed up to help their citizens, rather than having to pay off capital and interest.

We also want to see the G20 Common Framework used much better to help countries that need debt rescheduling. We have seen what happened recently in Zambia and Ghana and we know that that is not good enough.

Our Prime Minister has also made clear that we will stand by our commitment to provide 11.6 billion pounds of international climate finance before the end of 2025/26, and play our part in the 100 billion promise that has been made. And we have recently announced that we will spend 500 million pounds on forestry programmes because we know the important role they play in tackling climate change.

In November, we will have a summit in London on the issue of malnutrition, food insecurity and starvation, which I think will also make a very significant contribution.

The final point I want to make is about the critical importance of all these different state funding mechanisms being able to link umbilically with the private sector, and in particular with the 60 trillion dollars we know is there of pension fund money. Many of the people who manage pension funds would want to see, subject to the necessary safeguards, this money being used as part of the common fight across the planet on tackling climate change.

So, we think harnessing the role of the private sector is absolutely crucial. As we hope to help explain in a government white paper from Britain later this year on the future of international development. Just as BII – the British government’s development finance institution – is playing such an important role already, investing to support delivery of the SDGs.

As we look ahead to the Annual Meetings and COP28, let’s seize this moment to increase ambition, galvanise action, and find new ways to deliver a bigger, better, fairer international financial system. One that helps countries thrive on their own terms and leaves no one behind.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement by Minister Graham Stuart at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit on decarbonisation.

We have to speed up decarbonisation to keep 1.5 in reach – while taking people with us.

Since 1990 the UK has cut its emissions by more than any other major world economy, reducing them by 48% while growing its economy by 65%.

We will prioritise economic growth while delivering both our 2030 NDC and net zero by 2050.

As the PM said this morning, we will do this in a way that is both pragmatic and inclusive.

Being practical and delivering real-world change is exactly what the Breakthrough Agenda is about.

Last week’s report shows the progress being made. But some industries like steel and cement are not moving fast enough…

Announcements for near-zero emission steel plants have fallen far short of the 100 megatonnes needed globally by 2030.

For cement, there are only plans for around 6 percent of the near-zero emission capacity needed.

We need urgent action to decarbonise these high-emitting sectors and meet the Paris goals.

That means increasing research and development, scaling up clean technology finance, and boosting the market for green industry.

Finance is critical: the UK is leading with our commitment to deliver £11.6 billion of climate finance. At the G20 we made a pledge of £1.62 billion for the Green Climate Fund.

And I am pleased to announce today that the UK will provide a £160m package to support developing countries and ensure decarbonisation and economic growth go Hand-in-hand.

This funding will support coordinated action towards COP28, working through initiatives including the Clean Energy Innovation Facility and the Mitigation Action Facility.

The Breakthrough report’s recommendations set out how we can collaborate to make clean technologies more affordable and available – particularly in high-emitting sectors.

For example, a new ‘Cement Breakthrough’, led by Canada, is in development – and I’m pleased to announce that the UK will join that initiative.

We are also proud to co-lead the ‘Steel Breakthrough’ with Germany – endorsed by 31 countries.

The Breakthroughs are working with the COP28 Presidency to make decarbonising steel a priority this year – and I hope we can build a stronger global alliance to put our industries on track for net zero.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad at the UN Tuberculosis High-Level Meeting on ending tuberculosis.

I thank the President of the General Assembly and distinguished colleagues from Poland and Uzbekistan for your leadership on this summit and its political declaration.

In 2015 the world committed to ending TB by 2030.

Now is the right time to come together and reaffirm our commitment to end TB, and our collective action to make that happen.

The UK welcomes the declaration made at this meeting and the commitments in it.

We know that investments against TB can strengthen health systems and support us to achieve universal health coverage.

They can help us to prepare for future pandemics.

And they can help us in the fight against Anti-Microbial Resistance.

I am proud of the UK’s record in the fight against TB.

The UK is the third largest donor to the Global Fund investing over four and a half billion pounds over the last twenty years.

Our latest £1 billion pledge will provide TB treatment and care for over a million people and screen twenty million.

We have reduced the price and improved access to key drugs through our support to Unitaid, the Clinton Health Access Initiative and MedAccess.

And I’m very pleased that on Monday our Foreign Secretary acknowledged the importance of research, with a further £5 million to the TB alliance to support the development of new treatments.

This brings our funding to nearly £70 million over 6 years.

The TB Alliance has already brought revolutionary new treatments to market – more than a million courses of children’s medicines have been delivered to 123 countries.

And their new treatment for drug resistant-TB is quicker, more effective, has fewer side effects and is estimated to save up to 43,000 more lives by 2025.

We are also taking action to tackle TB in the UK.

Despite falling cases, TB remains a risk to the most vulnerable, and progress towards elimination has stalled.

Drug resistance remains an issue and we are taking the lead in using genome sequencing to identify resistance patterns and ensure effective treatment.

And the UK Health Security Agency is working with partners to evaluate promising vaccine candidates.

Our efforts to improve global health will continue into 2024, with next year’s High-level Meeting on Anti-Microbial Resistance a landmark opportunity to tackle AMR on a truly global scale.

Thank you for your time today, and for your continued commitment to end this cruel disease.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement for Interactive Dialogue with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. Delivered by UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

UK statement for Interactive Dialogue with the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Delivered by the UK’s Ambassador to the WTO & UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Mr President and welcome Commissioners.

A year ago, Russia attempted to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, following its organisation of sham referendums on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Since then, Russia’s attempts to consolidate control in these regions have been characterised by repression, violence and a total disregard for human life. Evidence, including that collected through the invaluable work of this Commission, shows widespread and systematic atrocities committed by Russian forces, many of which may amount to war crimes.

So, we have a simple message to Russia: we see through your farcical claims that this is a war of liberation. You can’t liberate people by shelling them, nor by torturing them, nor by deporting them and their children. Just as you can’t change borders by force – no matter how many sham referendums or elections you hold.

It is time to end this war and withdraw your forces – in line with your obligations under the Charter.

Commissioners, thank you from us all for the vital work over the last 16 months.

Ukrainian children have been relentlessly targeted as part of Russia’s efforts to erase Ukrainian identity and culture – including through their large-scale forced transfer and deportation to Russia and Russian-controlled territory.

So Commissioners, are you carrying out further investigations into the forcible transfer of children, including the widely reported use of so-called “summer camps” for systematic political indoctrination?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

UK and 38 other participating States mark the first anniversary of the 2022 Moscow Mechanism Report on the Russian Federation.

Mr Chair,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following participating States Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States, inter alia those that on 28 July 2022 invoked the Moscow (Human Dimension) Mechanism on the Threats to the Fulfilment of the Provisions of the Human Dimension Posed by Human Rights Violations and Abuses in the Russian Federation.

One year ago, the report released on 22 September under the Moscow Mechanism  revealed a clear link between internal repression of human rights and fundamental freedoms and external aggression:

“To start a war with another country, the elite must be sure that there will be no two-front war (with one front inside and one front outside the country). Therefore, restrictive measures are considered necessary in order not to be disturbed during the preparation for war or after it has started”.

Today, Professor Nußberger’s report sadly remains topical, as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues unabated, and as the human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated further. Russia has continued its systemic curtailment of human rights and civic space through further dissolution of independent media, harassment of lawyers, arbitrary imprisonment of civic activists and human rights defenders, and closure of human rights organisations, including Memorial, Moscow Helsinki Group and the Sakharov Center. The wave of repressions against dissenting voices has continued, with an array of unjust and arbitrary sentences issued under the penal code imposed on persons who only exercised their human rights and fundamental freedoms: including those that exercised their freedom of expression, by sharing posts on social media or they exercised their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. While in the past repression hit certain groups disproportionately, such as ethnic and religious minorities (e.g. Chechens, Jehovahs Witnesses), certain professions (journalists or opposition politicians) or persons belonging to particularly vulnerable groups (such as LGBTIQ persons), it is now a generalised phenomenon.

While larger organized protests have become impossible in Russia, there are still individuals across the country, who – in the face of omnipresent repression and the arbitrary application of Russia’s laws – continue to exercise their right to freedom of expression. Their attempts to oppose the Kremlin’s despotic regime are severely punished. Let me cite a few examples: Vladimir Kara-Murza (sentenced to 25 years), Alexey Navalny (whose term was extended to 19 years in August 2023), Ilya Yashin (sentenced to 8,5 years), Alexey Gorinov (sentenced to 7 years), Maria Ponomarenko (sentenced to 6 years), Olga Smirnova (sentenced to 6 years), but there are many others, such as Igor Paskar (sentenced to 8,5 years), Igor Baryshnikov (sentenced to 7,5 years), Oleg Belousov (sentenced to 5,5 years), Pavel Pekpaev (sentenced to 5,5 years), Parvinahan Abuzarova (sentenced to 3 years), and a number of others awaiting their trials in jail or currently on trial, such as Oleg Orlov, Evgeny Bestuzhev, Alexandra Skochilenko, Evgenia Berkovich, Svetlana Petriychuk, Konstantin Kochanov, Anna Bazhutova, Azat Miftakhov, and Pavel Stepanov. These are just a handful of the individual activists and bloggers that reports describe as targeted for repression simply for expressing opinions contrary to government propaganda and disinformation. An Orwellian dystopia is being realized before our eyes in Russia.

In August of this year, Memorial, a prominent human rights organisation, and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, published a 200-page report on political repression in Russia in 2022. The report gives a grim overview of continuing repressions, thus illustrating and confirming the trends detailed in Prof. Nußberger’s report, including the conclusion that numerous Russian laws are clearly incompatible with the rule of law and provide the pretext for targeting opposition voices, resulting in ever intensifying repressions. Under what amounts to military censorship, anti-war protests are completely banned and the extensive application of an entire array of anti-extremism legislation since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has resulted in the use of ever harsher punishments, as the examples listed beforehand show.

We renew our appeal to Russia to uphold its international commitments and obligations on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the OSCE principles and commitments. We call on Russia to release all the political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.

We call on the OSCE to continue giving priority to addressing the most critical issues in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia that continue to seriously undermine democratic stability, peace and security throughout the OSCE region and could have even greater unpredictable consequences at national and international levels.

We continue to remind Russia of one of the cornerstones enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. The universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect is an essential factor for peace, justice and well-being. We will continue to support those civil society actors whose work accords with the values upon which the OSCE was founded.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

The UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade has appointed Martin Kent as His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Asia Pacific.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 September 2023.

UK statement for Interactive Dialogue on interim oral update of High Commissioner on human rights situation in Belarus in run-up to 2020 presidential election.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 September 2023.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, as delivered at the 54th UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.