A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon, the Prime Minister Theresa May met Sinn Féin to discuss the recent progress in the final stage of negotiations with European Union.

The Prime Minister gave an update on the progress that has been made over the last few days with the EU and discussed the unresolved issues relating to the backstop.

In particular, the Prime Minister reaffirmed her commitment to there being no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and no border in the Irish Sea.

They discussed the need to restore the Northern Ireland Executive, the PM reconfirmed the UK Government’s commitment to its role in this process and that the Secretary of State for NI will be introducing legislation to ensure public services in NI will continue to be delivered.

Published 15 October 2018

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt today met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in London to discuss the growing relationship between Turkey and the UK on areas such as bilateral trade and investment.

The Foreign Secretary raised the situation in Syria, stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of civilians in Idlib and commended Turkey for hosting over 3.6 million refugees.

The Foreign Secretary also reiterated strong concerns over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, and the urgent need for a credible and thorough investigation.

Following the meeting, the Foreign Secretary said:

The case of Jamal Khashoggi remains deeply concerning. The UK fully supports the Turkish investigation into the incident as I reiterated in person to Mr Çavuşoǧlu today. We have been urging Saudi Arabia to cooperate fully with the investigation. There remain questions about the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi that only Saudi Arabia can answer.

To that end, we welcome King Salman’s and President Erdogan’s agreement of yesterday to establish a joint working group and the Saudi decision to ask the Prosecutor General to establish an internal investigation into Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance and hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it.

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Published 15 October 2018

The ‘Future Starts Today’ report indicates that the world has reached a critical point in the need to tackle the evolution of threats faced in the current climate.

Welcoming the report, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

This report makes clear that we are living in a world becoming rapidly more dangerous, with intensifying challenges from state aggressors who flout the rules, terrorists who want to harm our way of life and the technological race with our adversaries. Identifying these threats means we can continue to build an Armed Forces that can stay ahead of them.

The last Strategic Defence and Security Review, published three years ago, identified four main areas of threat, including the evolution of extremist terrorism, the resurgence of state-based threats, the rapid advance of technology on all fronts and the erosion of the rules-based international order.

The sixth edition of the Global Strategic Trends report recognises the danger of those threats, but also sets out how they are continuing to speed up and intersect to create new and unparalleled risks.

It outlines how regional powers could develop nuclear capabilities with global reach, internationally accepted rules on chemical weapons are ignored, and non-state actors could acquire sophisticated missile technology. It also describes how the interaction between climate change, demand for resources and over-population drives competition, that could lead to conflict.

UK Defence has always been at the forefront of global military capabilities and has risen to meet threats ranging from global conflicts, insurgent warfare, disinformation campaigns and offensive cyber. This has ensured the UK maintains a military edge over adversaries.

The MOD’s thinktank, the Development Concepts and Doctrine Centre, worked on this comprehensive report for two years. They drew on a range of analysis across academia, business, government departments and nations from across the globe. The findings support those who formulate Defence policy, strategy and capability development, and includes a range of innovations. This has been evident in the development of the MOD’s Arctic Strategy, Space Strategy and approach to future autonomous systems.

The MOD’s research teams used a suite of research methods to provide insight into alternate, plausible futures, watchpoints and discontinuities. Through this analysis UK Defence has identified key areas that have the potential to profoundly change humanity over the coming years.

The sixth edition of the Global Strategic Trends report can be read here.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon, the Prime Minister Theresa May met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to discuss the final stage of negotiations with the European Union.

The Prime Minister spoke about the real progress that has been made in recent weeks on both the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship. She also gave an update on the issues that still need to be resolved in relation to Northern Ireland and the backstop.

The Prime Minister emphasised that she believes that a negotiated deal is the best outcome for both the UK and for the European Union and that this deal is still achievable.

Published 15 October 2018

Foreign Office and DFID Minister Harriett Baldwin returned to Ghana to launch the UK-Ghana Business Council, which met for the first time in Accra on 14 October 2018. The Business Council, which will meet twice a year, brings both governments together to find ways to reduce barriers to trade and investment and create jobs.

Minister Baldwin said:

Ghana increasingly offers attractive investment opportunities for UK businesses, which in turn helps create jobs and advance economic development locally. Our governments are doing everything that we can to help make it easier for entrepreneurial businesses to trade and grow.

The Minister co-chaired the Council with Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia. The next Business Council will be held in London in December 2018.

The Business Council introduces a two-day UK-Ghana investment summit which will see a delegation of UK businesses travelling to Ghana to discuss investment opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure, industry, and manufacturing with Ghanaian businesses. The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Ghana Adam Afriyie and Trade and Export Promotion Minister Fairhead will also visit Ghana for the summit.

These discussions signal a strengthened economic development partnership between the two countries, and are expected to lead to investment that will create jobs for both UK and Ghanaian businesses, and boost local economies.

Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo, who will speak at the investment summit, has set out an ambitious vision to move Ghana beyond aid and transform the economy through industrialisation and infrastructure development creating thousands of jobs.

During her visit, Minister Baldwin met His Majesty Nana Amoatia Ofori Payin, King of Akyem, and discussed trade and development priorities. She also visited Tema Port with Border Force, who work with the local authorities to improve their monitoring and interdiction of smuggled goods at border points, cracking down on smuggling gangs.

Minister Baldwin last visited Ghana in August, immediately before joining the Prime Minister’s visit to Nigeria and Kenya. The Prime Minister travelled with a delegation of British businesses, with a focus on strengthening trade ties across the continent, where the UK is already the second largest investor.

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