Day: April 13, 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to the French President Emmanuel Macron this evening about the horrific attack in Douma, Syria on Saturday.

They agreed to keep working closely together on the international response.

As part of the visit of Simon Hart MP, Prime Minister Theresa May’s Trade Envoy to Panama, the British Embassy hosted a reception at the residence of British Ambassador Damion Potter with distinguished members of the national government and the business sector. This event was held to welcome him to Panama and to celebrate the close commercial ties between both nations.

Simon Hart is the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic and his role is to facilitate the strengthening of trade relations between the UK and markets of particular global interest. The United Kingdom continues to be one of the most important foreign investors in Panama and the intention of the British Government is to increase interaction at the highest level between officials of both nations, to the benefit of bilateral trade relations.

UK Trade Envoys are a global network of Members of Parliament, elected from the British political spectrum, and engage with one or more markets where the British Government has identified trade and investment opportunities.

The United Kingdom is the fourth largest investor in Panama, with an investment of US$ 2.6bn in 2016. Driven by substantial investment in infrastructure and backed by its role as the logistics, commercial and banking centre of Latin America, Panama has averaged annual GDP growth of over 7% over the last decade. Many UK companies – in more than a dozen sectors – have their regional offices in Panama.

During his visit, Simon Hart met with the President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, British companies with presence in Panama and visited the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. After completing the visit to Panama, he will be visiting Costa Rica as part of the trade mission in the region.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox today announced his department will launch new content to promote more than £30 billion worth of FDI opportunities, which will help to drive growth across the UK.

UK Invest, which is set to launch in the coming weeks, will make use of the Invest is GREAT website to publicise more than 60 opportunities across the country, and ensure the international investment community understand the rich breadth of the UK offer.

Hosted on invest.great.gov.uk, the portfolio will provide a quick and simple signpost for international investors looking to gain access to or grow their existing holdings in the UK economy.

The UK is the number one destination for inward investment in Europe. The portfolio will appeal to global investors who are attracted to the UK’s open, liberal economy, flexible and dynamic labour market, business-friendly taxation and regulation and strong, transparent rule of law.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said:

As an international economic department, we have been building relationships with the world’s most important investment stakeholders, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and investor developers.

UK Invest will work with every part of the UK to identify investment opportunities, and ensure the strong appetite for investing in the UK generates prosperity and jobs in every part of the country.

The announcement comes as statistics released this week by the ONS reveal that UK exports rose 10.4% to £627.6 billion between March 2017 and the end of February 2018, with increases in both goods and services and a £12.9 billion reduction in the trade deficit.

A new report from HSBC also revealed that the export boom looks set to continue in the coming years, predicting that the value of UK exports of goods and services will rise by 22% by 2020, and double by 2030.

DIT is the focal point for foreign investment capability across government, and helped attract a record 2,265 FDI projects in 2016 to 2017, up 2% on the previous year. This is estimated to have created or safeguarded more than 108,000 jobs.

Background

The invest.great.gov.uk site already provides a range of information to help international businesses invest in the UK. This includes details on:

• how DIT can helps companies to build connections with businesses across their sectors in the UK
• advice on hiring staff from recruitment through to salary benchmarking
• unique insights into specific markets in the UK based on companies’ needs
• information on grants and incentives to help businesses grow in the UK
• assistance with visa applications and other immigration issues

Lord Ahmad, Minister for Human Rights, said:

I have just returned from my first official visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and Israel.

I was pleased to meet Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Hebron, and Abu Nuwar Bedouin Community in Area C of the West Bank. I heard from human rights defenders about the impact of Israel’s occupation and saw the assistance that UK aid is providing to some of the most vulnerable in Palestinian society. I had a positive first meeting with Prime Minister Hamdallah to discuss these issues, the situation in Gaza and reaffirm the UK’s commitment to strengthening the UK-Palestinian Authority relationship. In my role as Minister for Human Rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief, I met with the Palestinian Minister for Religious Affairs Youssef Ideiss, and hosted an interfaith roundtable.

In Israel, I was humbled to attend the State Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem. I had constructive meetings with Israeli ministers Tzachi Hanegbi and Ayelet Shaked, re-affirming the UK’s commitment to our bilateral relationship with Israel, and raising our human rights concerns relating to the occupation, including the issue of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. I also met with Israeli companies working on counter terrorism technologies, to discuss what more we can do together to prevent terrorist use of the internet.

I remain deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza, and in particular by the high number of Palestinian deaths in recent weeks. With the Palestinian leadership I reaffirmed the right of the Gazan people, as indeed all peoples, to protest peacefully. It is important to understand the role Hamas continues to play in fomenting the violence. The UK recognises that Israel has the right to protect its borders against Hamas and other terrorist groups but as I said to Israeli Ministers, they must show restraint and consider carefully its use of force in response to future protests.

In my engagement with both Israelis and Palestinians I stressed the importance of addressing the underlying causes of the economic and humanitarian situation, and in particular to improve movement and access for people and goods.

My visit illustrated the urgent need for progress towards a two-state solution, so that Israelis and Palestinians can finally live with the peace and dignity they deserve.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad on Twitter @tariqahmadbt
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

During a visit to a camp for displaced families in Kalemie in the DRC, Africa minister Harriett Baldwin denounced recent escalations in violence across the east of the country and announced an emergency package of UK aid support which will provide additional lifesaving food, water and medical care to hundreds of thousands more people in desperate need.

This includes:

• giving over 390,000 more people access to clean drinking water
• providing over 85,000 more people with food or assistance to meet urgent food and other basic needs
• reaching over 38,000 more children suffering from malnutrition with vital nutrition support
• providing essential medical care to over 240,000 more people, including drugs for pregnant mothers

The UK recognised the crisis early and the Department for International Development (DFID) was one of the first donors to step up support.

The minister also called on the international community to increase support urgently for the country, announcing this humanitarian package as leaders from the international community are set to gather in Geneva today (Friday 13 April) for a UN pledging conference for the DRC.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

I have seen for myself the devastating impact of this terrible crisis – but UK aid is already on the ground and with today’s emergency package, we are providing a vital lifeline for more desperate mothers and their starving children who have been forced to flee their homes.

This is a major humanitarian crisis and I have pressed for the DRC to fully recognise the scale of suffering, and cooperate with international efforts to help the millions of Congolese people affected. It is important that international partners also urgently step up their support.

The DRC has huge potential to be a prosperous nation, but it’s vital we work now to establish the political stability which will create the foundations for future growth and a safer and brighter future for all Congolese people. Key to this will be credible, constitutional and inclusive elections in December 2018.

DFID’s humanitarian response is already reaching over three million people across the country with lifesaving aid.

During her visit minister Baldwin asked to meet with President Kabila. She met with representatives from across government, including opposition candidates and the DRC’s electoral commission (CENI), to stress the vital importance of the DRC holding credible, constitutional and inclusive elections by the end of this year, to help tackle some of the root causes of violence and suffering in DRC.

Notes to Editors

• This UK aid humanitarian uplift (£22m) from the Department for International Development is in addition to the £205m already allocated for the humanitarian response which is reaching over three million people with lifesaving support. This increase will provide:
  • over 85,000 people with food or assistance to meet urgent food and other basic needs
  • over 38,000 children under the age of 5 with vital nutrition
  • over 390,000 million people with access to clean drinking water
  • over 240,000 people with essential health care such as drugs for pregnant mothers
  • over 12,400 children with access to education
  • 430 survivors of trauma including gender based violence with psychosocial support and counselling
• The current £205m includes an initial provision of £175m which was increased by an additional £30m at the end of last year in the face of increasing humanitarian needs.
• This £22 million increase will form part of an ongoing £100m package which will be confirmed by the UK to the UN’s humanitarian response at a pledging conference today (Friday 13th April) in Geneva, which includes support announced publicly last year.
• DFID is one of the leading donors to the DRC. In 2017 we were the second largest donor to the DRC. The UK recognised the crisis early and was one of the first donors to step up support.
• According to the UN, 4.5 million people are internally displaced in the DRC, 7.7 million people are now lacking reliable access to food, and 2.2 million children are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition, in what has become the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa.