Month: December 2017

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia earlier this evening.

She welcomed the decision by the Saudi-led Coalition to reopen the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and noted the arrival of UK staff in the region to assist with the UN inspection process, helping to speed up the distribution of much needed humanitarian and commercial supplies.

The Prime Minister strongly condemned yesterday’s attempted missile attack on the Yamama Palace in Riyadh, and welcomed the restraint shown by Saudi Arabia in the face of unacceptable Houthi aggression.

She reiterated the UK’s ongoing commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and our determination to push for stronger action through the UN to expose and counter Iran’s destabilising activity in the region and to find a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.

Finally, the Prime Minister looked forward to welcoming the Crown Prince to the UK in the New Year.

The United Kingdom is concerned by Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in Ukraine.

This decision risks severely undermining the Minsk peace process, in which the JCCC has a specific role to play. It will also have significant consequences for those in the area, including the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, as the JCCC has facilitated numerous local ceasefires in eastern Ukraine.

An FCO spokesperson said:

We are concerned by Russia’s withdrawal from the JCCC. The JCCC plays an important role in facilitating local ceasefires in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s withdrawal casts doubt on their commitment to a lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and to the safety and security of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission. It also heightens the risk of ecological disaster in the Donbas given the JCCC’s role in facilitating repairs to critical civilian infrastructure such as the Donetsk Water Filtration Station, which houses large amounts of chlorine gas.

The humanitarian situation in the Donbas is growing ever bleaker and civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict. The UK calls on all parties to do all they can to alleviate humanitarian suffering and commit to a lasting peace.

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• Cardiff was the capital city with the highest growth increase in the UK in the value of its goods and services

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show Wales was the fastest growing country in the UK in 2016 for the value of its goods and services.

Gross Value Added (GVA) is a measure of the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services.

The figures show that Wales’ GVA was estimated to have increased by 1.9% in 2016, while England’s increased by 1.6%, Scotland by 1.2% and Northern Ireland by 1.1%. This year’s national figures were adjusted to incorporate the value of inflation for the first time.

Cardiff experienced the highest growth increase amongst all UK capital cities, growing by 5.7% in 2016.

While Wales as a whole indicated positive signs of growth, the nation still has the lowest GVA per head of population, showing that more needs to be done to close the gap with the other UK nations in this field.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Today’s figures prove that in 2016 Wales outperformed England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in GVA growth.

On top of this, it’s great to see Cardiff out in front of the rest of the UK’s capital cities, strengthening the Welsh economy with its compound semi-conductors, financial services expertise and innovative technologies in healthcare.

However, Wales does continue to have the lowest GVA per head in UK. All our efforts – both within the UK and Welsh governments – must be focussed on changing that trend and maximising the economic growth potential of our nation.

ENDS