Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 13 April 2023.

The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, this afternoon.

The leaders reflected on the close friendship between the two countries, and agreed great progress was being made on the 2030 UK-India Roadmap.

Discussing ongoing negotiations on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement, the leaders reflected on the huge opportunities a deal would offer to Indian and British businesses and consumers.

Both agreed to direct their teams to expedite progress to resolve outstanding issues and ensure a world-leading deal that would see both economies thrive.

The Prime Minister reiterated his condemnation of the unacceptable violence outside the Indian High Commission in London earlier this month.

He stressed that extremism had no place in the UK and updated on the steps being taken to ensure the security of Indian High Commission staff.

The leaders shared their best wishes to those celebrating Vaisakhi in the UK and India tomorrow.

Both looked forward to seeing each other at the G7 in Japan next month, as well as at the G20 in India later this year.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 April 2023.

Special Envoys and Representatives from France, Germany, Norway, the UK, USA, and the EU have issued a statement on heightened tensions in Sudan.

We, the Special Envoys and Representatives from France, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union are deeply concerned by reports of heightened tensions in Sudan and risk of escalation between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.

Escalatory actions threaten to derail negotiations toward the establishment of a civilian-led transitional government. We call on Sudan’s military and civilian leaders to take active steps to reduce tensions. We urge them to hold to their commitments and engage constructively to resolve outstanding issues on security sector reform to establish a future unified, professional military accountable to a civilian government.

Now is the time to enter into a final political agreement that can deliver on the democratic aspirations of the people of Sudan.

Establishing a civilian-led transitional government is essential to address Sudan’s urgent political, economic, security, and humanitarian challenges, and is the key to unlocking international assistance.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 April 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council briefing on Colombia.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 April 2023.

HM Treasury has today (13 April) announced the appointment of Sophie Hutcherson to the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority alongside the reappointment of Bernadette Conroy for a second term.

• Sophie Hutcherson has been appointed to the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a Non-Executive Director.
• Sophie has 30 years’ experience in financial services having been a senior advisor to the CEO at Wells Fargo and having held various senior positions at Deutsche Bank UK.
• Bernadette Conroy has also been reappointed to the FCA Board as a Non-Executive Director for a second three-year term.
• Ben Broadbent has been reappointed for a third term to the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Board of the Prudential Regulation Authority.

HM Treasury has today (13 April) announced the appointment of Sophie Hutcherson to the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) alongside the reappointment of Bernadette Conroy for a second term.

Sophie Hutcherson will join the Board on 17 April. Sophie has 30 years’ experience in financial services having worked as senior advisor to the CEO at Wells Fargo and held various senior positions at Deutsche Bank UK.

Bernadette Conroy’s executive career was spent in the financial services sector, where she gained 29 years’ experience at HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Booz Allen Hamilton.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith, said:

“I am delighted with the appointment of Sophie Hutcherson to the Board of the FCA, and I am pleased to be able to reappoint Bernadette Conroy to her role on the FCA’s Board.

“Their wealth of commercial experience within the financial services sector will strengthen the FCA’s Board and ensure the UK’s regulatory framework supports the Government’s vision at a time when Parliament is adding an important new duty on growth and international competitiveness.”

Chair of the FCA, Ashley Alder, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Sophie to the Board of the FCA, bringing a wealth of commercial experience from her more than 30 years as a leader in the financial sector, and with the reappointment of Bernadette, so we can continue to benefit from her strong focus on strategic delivery.

“As the remit of the FCA continues to grow, it is vital our Board can draw on a range of experiences.”

In addition, Ben Broadbent has been reappointed for a third term to the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Board of the Prudential Regulation Authority. This will align to conclude on 30 June 2024 when his second term as Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England is also due to end.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 April 2023.

Scotland Office Minister John Lamont’s US trip promotes culture, investment and trade.

The UK Government will be represented at New York’s Tartan Week, when Scotland Minister John Lamont attends the Tartan Day Parade this weekend on Saturday 15 April.

Marking its 25th anniversary this year, Tartan Week is an annual celebration of Scottish heritage in the Big Apple.  It celebrates the deep cultural ties between Scotland and the United States, and features a bagpipe parade through the streets of Manhattan.

Minister Lamont will be accompanied on the parade by performers from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The all-female troop is made up of two pipers, a fiddle player and four dancers. They will be representing the internationally-renowned Tattoo at Tartan Week for the first time.

In addition to the parade, Minister Lamont will take part in a number of other events, including:

• Attending a recreation of the first Tartan Week parade 25 years ago, which went from the British Consulate to the UN Plaza. This will include performers from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
• Hosting a reception with The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, showcasing the best in Scottish arts and culture.  Refreshments at the event will be provided courtesy of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky.
• Taking part in a panel discussion on renewable energy and the drive to Net Zero, hosted by the Scottish North American Business Council and involving representatives from both sides of the Atlantic.
• Attending a roundtable event with members of the financial services industry hosted by EY and the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade.

The Minister’s presence at Tartan Week highlights the importance of the relationship between Scotland and the United States, the significant contributions that Scottish-Americans have made to American society, as well as our many trade links. The USA is Scotland’s top exports market, with latest figures showing services exports worth £5 billion and goods exports worth £4 billion, and with beverages alone counting for more than £1 billion.

UK Minister for Scotland John Lamont said:

I am very pleased to be representing the UK Government at New York’s Tartan Week. It is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Scotland and our world class exports – be they financial services, Scotch or ceilidh dancing. The ties between Scotland and the United States are strong and enduring, and events like this showcase the lasting and important friendship between our two countries.

Business and Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston said:

Our trading relationship with the US is a hugely important one, with Scottish businesses exporting billions of pounds worth of high-quality goods and services each year.

Events such as Tartan Week help us to celebrate these links, but also to further strengthen ties with US buyers.

We’ve already made encouraging progress in removing trade barriers at state and federal level, and the UK Government will continue to do all it can to deliver for Scottish businesses and consumers.

Jason Barrett, Chief Operating Officer for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said:

We are delighted to be invited by the Scotland Office to New York’s 25th Tartan Week celebrations. The opportunity to share Scottish and military traditions as our Tattoo performers march alongside other extraordinary local and international Scottish organisations highlights our ambition to share our rich heritage with the world.

Allan Hogarth, Executive Director of the Scottish North American Business Council, said:

We are delighted to have assembled a panel of experts for the 25th Anniversary of Tartan Week. They will showcase Scotland’s strengths in the renewable energy sector and also explore the challenges on both sides of the Atlantic on key issues including climate mitigation and adaptation and city operations, sharing best practice in New York and Scotland.

The UK Government works tirelessly around the world to promote and protect the interests of Scotland.  Through our network of 282 missions in 180 countries and territories, British diplomats represent the interests of the whole United Kingdom, generating trade and investment and proudly promoting Scotland’s rich culture and heritage.

The UK Government has been seeking to remove trade barriers with the United States through a series of state-level MoUs, with more expected in the coming months. There have also been major trade breakthroughs at the federal level, including the removal of restrictions preventing high-quality Scottish beef from being sold in the US and resolving the Section 232 tariff dispute, resulting in the removal of 25 per cent tariffs on British steel.

The Tartan Parade, which takes place on Saturday 15 April is a highly anticipated event in New York City, drawing thousands of spectators each year. The parade features marching bands, traditional Scottish dancers and a procession of bagpipers. The event has become a beloved tradition in the Big Apple, and is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of Scotland in the United States.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

Statement by UK ECOSOC Ambassador Tom Woodroffe at the UN General Assembly plenary session on the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD).

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council briefing on Mali.

Thank you, President. Thank you, SRSG Wane, for your briefing. Let me underscore our appreciation for the hard work and the courage of MINUSMA’s peacekeepers.

Last time the Council met on Mali, we had just received the Secretary-General’s review. This established four parameters against which progress was needed for MINUSMA to remain effective and relevant. There are clear indications in the latest report that progress has not been made. In fact, the trajectory seems to be worsening in several respects.

First, ground and air movement restrictions continue to hinder peacekeepers, with almost a quarter of flight requests rejected by the authorities during the reporting period. This impedes the protection of civilians and places peacekeepers at risk.

Second, there was the expulsion of MINUSMA’s human rights director, following the dangerous criticism directed at the civil society representative who briefed this Council in January. This reflects a worrying disregard for the mission’s mandate. We count on the mission’s continued commitment to investigate and report on human rights. In this regard, we urge the release without further delay of the UN report on the alleged massacre of civilians in Moura by Malian armed forces and Wagner Group personnel in March 2022.

Third, tensions persist between Peace Agreement signatories. The UK, along with wider International Mediation, stand ready to support. We urge the parties to engage with the International Mediation proposals presented last week aimed at relaunching the peace process. While all parties need to show willingness to engage on concrete implementation measures, it is the Malian authorities that ultimately have primary responsibility to implement the Agreement. We urge them to make the first step.

Fourth, the timely transition to constitutional rule by March 2024 remains imperative. Electoral and constitutional reforms should not be allowed to impede this.

President, in June this Council will be faced with some difficult decisions. With few visible signs from the Malian authorities of a commitment to meeting the Secretary-General’s parameters, it cannot be business as usual for MINUSMA’s mandate renewal in June. We should be ready to adapt and refocus the mission, reviewing any support that carries risks to the UN’s credibility and reputation.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

New sanctions announced target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

New sanctions announced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly today (Wednesday 12 April) target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

In the face of unprecedented international sanctions in response to Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine – with over £18 billion of Russian and other assets frozen in the UK alone – oligarchs have scrambled to shield their wealth with the help of financial fixers, offshore trusts, shell companies, and even using their family members.

Now UK experts have uncovered their financial networks – tracing those responsible for facilitating the activity and sanctioning them directly with asset freezes, travel bans, transport sanctions, and trust services sanctions. Working in partnership across Whitehall, the FCDO, HMRC, NCA, OFSI and others such as DfT, are enforcing sanctions and pursuing those who try to undermine them.

Among those sanctioned are Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, 2 Cypriot professional enablers supporting major Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov. Ioannides is responsible for crafting the murky offshore structures which Abramovich used to hide over £760 million assets ahead of being sanctioned following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Vassiliades, a Cypriot lawyer, is at the centre of a web of trusts and offshore companies that link Usmanov and Sutton Place Estate.

The UK has also targeted Usmanov’s financial network, including companies USM, Curzon Square Limited, and Hanley Limited. Sanctioning these companies ensures that assets associated with Usmanov – including the £90 million Beechwood House mansion in London – remain sanctioned. Curzon Square Limited, the outfit that acted as Usmanov’s London office and as leaseholder of a Grade II mansion on Curzon Square, is also subject to an asset freeze. Vladimir and Varvara Skoch, the father and daughter of Usmanov’s business partner and ”richest man in the Duma” Andrei Skoch, have also been sanctioned.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

We are closing the net on the Russian elite and those who try to help them hide their money for war.

There’s no place to hide. We will keep cutting them off from assets they thought were successfully hidden.

Together with our international partners the UK will continue to crack down on those who are supporting the war.

We won’t stop until Putin does.

Today’s package hits a number of family members of other oligarchs, who are used as proxies to hide their assets. This includes:

• Tatiana Evtushenkova, the acting director of firm Redline Capital which is owned by her father, Vladimir Evtushenkov
• Natalia Evtushenkov, wife of Vladimir Evtushenkov who holds board positions in banks and other companies in which her husband owns stakes including MTS Bank. She is also on the board of directors for Telecomms company Instacom International, which is owned by her husband
• Felix Evtushenkov, whose father Vladimir transferred 10% of shares in Russian conglomerate Sistema to Felix at the time of his own designation, bringing Vladimir’s stake to below 50%
• Gulnara Kerimova, who holds four luxury villas in France on behalf of her father Suleyman Kerimov
• Nariman Gadzhiev, who acts as the beneficiary owner of a series of shell companies connected to Kerimov. A company linked to Gadzhiev was found to be transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to companies linked to his uncle Kerimov
• Oksana Marchenko, the wife of key Putin ally Victor Medvedchuk, and owner of multiple luxury properties in Crimea

Today’s package comes as part of the UK’s crackdown on all forms of evasion and circumvention – including an additional £50 million announced as part of the new Economic Deterrence Initiative to support sanctions enforcement and continued work with international partners.

The Home Secretary also recently announced the expansion of the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell to target corrupt elites and their enablers.

The UK, alongside international partners, is also continuing to strengthen the unprecedented sanctions imposed to constrain Russia’s capacity to wage its illegal war – including through the new enforcement co-ordination mechanism to bolster the compliance and enforcement of our measures.

By implementing these measures, the UK is ensuring – consistent with its legal systems – that Putin and those who continue to support his war have no access to any of these assets until they end their violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

Ambassador Bush says the arrival of Spring is overshadowed for a second year by Russia’s destructive and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Firstly, I would like to thank Ms Herasymchuck for her statement. Madam Chair, since we last met in this Council, millions across the OSCE region have welcomed the arrival of Spring; celebrating new life, rebirth and community. While we may look ahead to warmer, brighter days, for many Ukrainians the upcoming Easter celebrations will be overshadowed for a second year by Russia’s destructive and unprovoked invasion.

Thousands of Ukrainian families will be missing loved ones from their tables and family gatherings in the coming days: those killed by Russian invaders; those serving to defend Ukraine; unlawfully detained persons and all those forced from their homes. This Easter, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, over 6,000 Ukrainian children will be in Russia’s custody, without their parents – some as far as 4,000 miles from their homes. We await the Moscow Mechanism report on this latest cruelty from Russia.

This devastation also includes families grieving in Russia. Thousands of Russian soldiers have senselessly lost their lives in Ukraine – many of them recruited from minority communities, in Russia’s poorest regions. Poorly trained, ill equipped and with non-existent leadership, these men – young and old – were led to their deaths by Moscow’s lies and propaganda. The Russian leadership has shown a complete disregard for the lives of its citizens – to fight a war that many do not understand or believe in.

Spring also marks a busy time for agricultural producers across the OSCE region. However, in Ukraine, the simple act of tending to the land could result in serious injury or death. More than 5 million hectares of Ukraine’s farmland has been damaged in the war – an area larger than Slovakia. Vast areas will need to be cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance and re-cultivated. Russian forces stole or destroyed agricultural equipment and left seed and crops to rot, while bombs, bullets, starvation and disease killed hundreds of thousands of animals and millions of poultry birds. We continue to see the impact of Russia’s actions on world food prices and on the most food-insecure communities around the globe.

Every day, ordinary Ukrainians live under the constant threat of attack while trying to go on with their lives. This weekend residential areas, including in Kramatorsk and Kupiansk, were the target of Russian shelling and rocket attacks, which claimed more innocent lives including a little 11-year-old girl and her father. Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Sunday resulted in a further three deaths. The relentless loss of life and devastation caused by Russia’s aggression since February 2022 is incomprehensible.

We will remember each one of these lives taken. We will not forget the names of the children separated from their parents. We will honour those who have given their lives and livelihoods in the defence of their country. Time and again, we have called on Russia to end this war, to end the suffering to Ukraine, to its own people and to all affected around the world. However, it is clear Russia’s political leadership does not want peace.

Madam Chair, there is hope. The Ukrainian people have demonstrated repeatedly that they will not give up their right to freedom and a democratic future; they will not bow in the face of Russian aggression. And Ukraine’s friends will not give up either. As evidenced by the wide-ranging diplomatic, economic, military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine by its partners, Russia should not harbour any illusions that this support will diminish. It will not. Ukraine will have peace; a just and lasting peace on Ukraine’s terms; a peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; and a peace that restores the stability and security of Europe and the wider global community. And we will be standing by them.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 April 2023.

The Media Freedom Coalition Executive Group has released a statement on the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.