Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 June 2023.

Dr Liane Saunders OBE has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman in succession to Mr William Murray who has retired from the Diplomatic Service. Dr Saunders will take up her appointment during June 2023.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Liane Saunders

Place of Birth: Cardiff, UK

Date	Role
2021 to 2023	FCDO, Staff Counsellor
2017 to 2021	FCDO, Strategy Director and Strategic Programmes Coordinator
2015 to 2017	Cabinet Office, Director General, Capabilities and Engagement, National Security Secretariat and Chilcot Lessons Learned Coordinator
2014 to 2015	Cabinet Office, Acting Deputy National Security Adviser
2012 to 2014	Cabinet Office, Director, Foreign and Defence Policy, and Afghanistan/Pakistan Coordinator
2011 to 2012	FCO, Additional Director, Middle East and North Africa Directorate (MENAD)
2009 to 2010	FCO, Head, Counter Proliferation Department
2006 to 2009	FCO, Head, Consular Crisis Group
2005 to 2006	FCO, Strategic Challenges Lead, Comprehensive Spending Review Team
2003 to 2004	Northern Iraq: Secondment to US northern region team, Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, latterly Regional Coordinator (Northern Region), Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq
2000 to 2003	Ankara, First Secretary (Political) later Head of Political Section, and British negotiator for the Northern Iraq Kurdish Peace Process
1993 to 2000	Postings to Kuwait and Egypt; Desk Officer for Central America; secondment to the United Nations Observer Team in El Salvador

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 June 2023.

The UK’s new Developing Countries Trading Scheme comes into force this June, improving Philippine businesses’ access to the UK market.

On 7 June 2023, the UK government launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in Manila – a major milestone in opening up new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils opened the event, with the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual joining as the guest of honour. Representatives from the Philippine government, exporters to the UK, and industry associations were also in attendance. The launch was delivered in partnership with the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP).

Speaking at the launch, His Majesty’s Ambassador, Laure Beaufils said:

I am delighted to announce that the UK’s new unilateral preferences scheme, the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), will come into effect on 19 June 2023. The DCTS will cut tariff, remove conditions and simplify trading rules. It will increase trade and strengthen the trade relationship between the UK and the Philippines.  I strongly encourage businesses to take full advantage of this new scheme.

Trade Preferences Policy Advisor Sabiha Ahmed delivered a keynote highlighting high potential value chains and products that can benefit from the new scheme. This was based on research into UK retailers’ and consumers’ buying considerations, and insights from Filipino producers, financiers, trade programmes and policymakers. The programme also included presentations on customs processes and agricultural standards for Philippine exporters.

Trade between the Philippines and the UK reached an all-time high of £2.4 billion in 2022. The Philippines exports a range of high value products to the UK including tuna, shirts, and starch, which benefit from significant tariff reductions under the DCTS. . DCTS has the potential to save Philippine businesses over £20 million a year on UK export tariffs.

Philippine exports to the UK can benefit from an additional 150+ tariff cuts under the DCTS. DCTS Enhanced Preferences offer generous tariff preferences and facilitate access to the UK market for Philippine businesses across a wide range of industries.

Also present during the launch was Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Fred Pascual. In his opening message, he said:

The UK-DCTS, as one of the most generous trade preference schemes in the world, enables the Philippines to have continued access to enhanced preferences. We look forward to our country having access to duty-free, quota-free trade on 92 percent of our eligible goods—or 99 percent of our exports to the UK.

The UK Government is launching the DCTS to replace the Generalised Scheme of Preferences with the aim to grow free and fair trade with selected countries. It offers one of the most generous sets of trading preferences in the world and demonstrates the UK’s commitment to building long term, mutually beneficial relationship with the Philippines.

The Trade Preferences Policy Advisor also delivered information sessions to DTI, BCCP, and other industry associations. The sessions focused on sharing insights on current trends, UK market purchasing criteria, barriers to trade and what can be done to unlock the Philippines’ trade and investment potential. Attendees also learnt about other key trade-related information including quality certification and customs requirements.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 June 2023.

Foreign Secretary chairs the OECD’s Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris to mobilise international support for Ukraine’s recovery and tackle global challenges.

• The UK will help mobilise international support for Ukraine’s recovery as it chairs the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris for the first time in nearly 50 years.
• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will chair the meeting on behalf of the UK, highlighting the need for partnerships, technology and innovation in tackling a range of global challenges, which are also having an impact in the UK.
• The UK and partners will also discuss the path to opening up membership of the OECD, including to Ukraine and countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

THE UK will galvanise global support to help Ukraine’s reconstruction, as it chairs the annual Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) meeting in Paris from today (June 7).

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, hosting the annual Ministerial Council Meeting after visiting Ukraine earlier this week, will set out how the UK and its fellow OECD member countries will support its reconstruction, ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London later this month (June 21 and 22).

The gathering in Paris will also set out how the UK, chairing the meeting for the first time since 1975, and the other 37 member countries of the OECD can collectively tackle global challenges. These include strengthening global economic resilience, tackling energy insecurity and climate change, and addressing the use of new and emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence. The meeting will also discuss the path to Ukraine and more countries in the Indo-Pacific region becoming members of the global economic organisation.

Mr Cleverly will be joined at the meeting in Paris by Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch; Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Chloe Smith; Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps; and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, who will be chairing sessions focused on economic resilience, energy, and international tax. They will discuss issues of direct relevance to the UK, such as the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the economy, reducing debt, and halving inflation.

Countries from the G7, G20 and EU are also sending senior ministers.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

Every day we witness Ukraine’s suffering and tragic losses as Russia’s cruel and illegal invasion continues. This includes loss of life, loss of homes, loss of livelihoods and a colossal loss of economic opportunities, but never a loss of hope, as I saw for myself when I visited Ukraine this week.

I welcome the role that Ukraine’s international partners, including the OECD, are playing in helping them rebuild. The people of Ukraine didn’t ask for this war. They have sacrificed a lot for the values we all share. The OECD must support them. Their fight is our fight.

It is only by working together as an international community of like-minded partners that we can address global challenges and secure a resilient and prosperous future for all.

UK expertise is set to support the OECD’s Ukraine Country Programme, due to be launched today. UK government experts will support and advise the OECD to establish a programme that has impact and delivers for the people of Ukraine. Funding from the UK’s Good Governance Fund will back the programme for an initial two-year period.

The fresh support for Ukraine’s recovery announced today follows the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine this week.

The FCDO is also due to announce at the OECD meeting a £50m portfolio of research projects to be implemented via the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme, launched at COP26, which is co-funded by the UK and Canada to support science and innovation for climate resilience in lower income countries.

In addition, the FCDO will propose a strategic framework to strengthen the OECD’s future engagement with the Indo-Pacific region. This follows the publication of the Integrated Review Refresh in March 2023, which set out how the UK will prioritise the Indo-Pacific in the long-term, making the region a permanent pillar of the UK’s international policy.

OECD members will also discuss the issue of energy security, with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine having triggered a spike in global energy prices, impacting households around the world, including in the UK where the government has taken unprecedented action by covering around half of the typical household’s bill.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Putin’s weaponisation of energy served as a global wake-up call that we must secure our energy supply and independence.

The UK is leading the world in the pursuit of cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy such as nuclear, solar and wind power, which will ensure we can never again be held ransom through a dependency on fossil fuels.

We are committed to freezing Putin out of global energy markets and working with our international partners and allies, including the OECD, will deliver energy security for generations to come.

The Business and Trade Secretary will chair a session of OECD Ministers on economic resilience where they will discuss how together we can build trade, investment and diversify supply chains in response to the challenges our economies are facing. They will agree the launch of key trade and investment-related deliverables, including the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and the launch of the OECD Trade Strategy.

Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch said:

Stronger supply chains and fairer trading systems are vital for our economic security so that British companies can ensure access to the materials they need to manufacture the vital goods we all depend on.

Defending free trade is one of my top priorities, and the UK will use this summit to work with our closest international partners to tackle shared global challenges and grow our economy.

Recognising the importance of corporate tax revenues to developing countries, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury will chair a session on tax for development, in which developing countries will discuss how the OECD can accelerate efforts to help them tackle tax avoidance and support sustainable development.

Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

As countries continue to face global headwinds and new challenges, the OECD has never played a more vital role in helping us tackle these together.

From delivering our historic global tax deal and helping developing nations implement it, to driving through new global standards for crypto-regulation, I am proud the UK continues to play a leading role in the new economic world.

On Tuesday (June 6), Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Chloe Smith also chaired discussions at the first ever Global Forum on Technology, where participants from over 50 countries and stakeholders from industry and civil society discussed the opportunities and risks presented by emerging technologies, including immersive technology and the metaverse, engineering biology and the role of Artificial Intelligence.

Notes to editors:

The UK government is due to announce the following at the OECD summit:

• The Ukraine Country Programme is an OECD programme focused on supporting the country’s reconstruction and working towards Ukraine becoming an OECD member.
• The UK will be announcing a £50m portfolio of research projects implemented via the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme, co-funded by UK and Canada, to support climate resilience in lower income countries.
• The Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework sends a signal of OECD intent for a deeper level of future engagement with the countries of the region including the prospect of welcoming Indo-Pacific countries as potential members. It will be followed up by an implementation plan.
• The Ukraine Recovery Conference will take place in London on June 21 and 22.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

FCDO statement on Iran’s reveal of its new ballistic missile, the Fattah, which was unveiled today.

An FCDO spokesperson said:

“Iran has announced the development of a new ballistic missile, despite repeated calls from the UN Security Council to halt its programme. This, only weeks after Iran claimed to have successfully test-launched a ballistic missile of similar capability, further proves its continued disregard of international restrictions and the grave threat posed by the regime to global security.

“Alongside partners, the UK remains committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and to hold the regime to account for its malign activity around the world.”

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Thank you, President. And I am grateful to USG Griffiths for his briefing.

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam is truly an abhorrent act. The UK stands in solidarity with Ukraine and the thousands of Ukrainians who are tonight evacuating from their homes or facing terrible damage to their livelihoods or water supply.

We stand ready to support Ukraine and all those affected by this catastrophe. And we are already working with humanitarian partners on the ground to supply aid. The UK has helped support them to pre-position supplies in case of an emergency like this.

As we have heard, this act has put thousands of civilians in danger and is causing severe environmental damage to the surrounding area. Flooding threatens to contaminate water supplies and vital natural habitats.

Vast swathes of agricultural land and electricity supplies are also at risk. And this in turn threatens food production and the international food trade.

President, this is the latest of many tragic consequences of President Putin’s war, which will bring further terrible suffering to the people of Ukraine.

We have seen Russia indiscriminately attack civilians and critical civilian infrastructure time and time again in this war.

If Russia proves to be responsible, it would be a new low in its conduct of this brutal war.

We will continue to carefully assess the evidence in the coming days. But let me repeat what we have said throughout: now is the time for President Putin to withdraw all his forces from Ukraine’s sovereign territory and bring his war of aggression to an end.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland congratulates both Azerbaijan and Armenia on the recent progress made towards a lasting settlement and urges them to build on this momentum.

Thank you, Foreign Minister Bayramov, for your address. Welcome to the Permanent Council.

The UK Government is closely following the ongoing peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and we welcome the participation of both countries in working towards a settlement of all outstanding matters between them. We congratulate both sides on the progress made so far and urge you to build on this momentum. It remains clear: only through peacefully facilitated dialogue can a lasting settlement be reached.

The OSCE can make a valuable contribution to peace and stability in the region, through its versatile toolkit and valuable expertise, from conflict mediation, resolution, and monitoring to economic and environmental issues. I know my Minister is looking forward to meeting you and discussing these and other issues at the UK-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue in London soon.

Foreign Minister, allow me to echo my colleagues and stress that for the OSCE to remain fully functional it requires strong governance and adequate funding. We regret that the continued non-agreement of the Unified Budget is negatively impacting the work of the whole Organisation. Agreement is essential to the effective running of all field operations and institutions – and we encourage Azerbaijan to engage constructively on the next revision of the Unified Budget Proposal.

Minister, thank you once again for addressing us and we wish you the best for your ongoing dialogue.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

The UK strongly condemns attacks on civilian infrastructure and stands ready to help Ukraine, says Ambassador Neil Holland.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

France, Germany and the UK (E3) gave a joint statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on Iran’s implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 June 2023.

Ms Abda Sharif OBE has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen in succession to Mr Richard Oppenheim who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ms Sharif will take up her appointment during September 2023.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Abda Sharif

Place of Birth: Yorkshire, UK

Date	Role
2019 to 2022	FCDO, Head of Iraq and Arabian Peninsula Department, Middle East and North Africa Directorate
2017 to 2019	Cabinet Office, Deputy Director
2016 to 2017	FCO, Deputy Director, Rule of Law Strategy and Engagement
2012 to 2016	Beirut, Deputy Ambassador
2011	Benghazi, Head of UK Office
2009 to 2011	United Kingdom Delegation to the Council of Europe, Deputy Ambassador
2006 to 2008	Baghdad, Legal Adviser and Head of Justice and Human Rights Section
2003 to 2006	FCO, Legal Directorate
2001 to 2003	Lawyer, private practice

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 June 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on the Central African region.