Jun102017
BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) — The Chinese central government has appointed Xie Feng as commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing Song Zhe, according to a decision announced on Saturday.
Jun102017
Check against delivery!
I first of all apologise for the delay.
We had a very long, substantial and good meeting with Foreign Minister [Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman] Al-Thani of Qatar. Just before the meeting took place I had the second phone call in 24 hours with the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [Adel bin Ahmed] Al-Jubeir and yesterday I spoke at length with the Foreign Minister of Kuwait [Sabah Al-Khalid] al-Sabah.
The European Union is talking to all sides directly involved in the ongoing tensions and crisis across the Gulf and around the Gulf, in particular within the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council], with two simple messages: one, avoid any further escalation; and, second, engage in a political dialogue, in particular taking advantage of the mediation efforts that Kuwait is putting in place. These are the two clear, straight forwarding messages that we are passing to our friends in the region.
The European Union has good relations with all countries of the GCC. All countries of the region are good friends for us. We want to keep these good relations with all countries in the Gulf and we will keep good relations with all countries in the Gulf. We also believe that regional cooperation in the Gulf and around the Gulf is key for different reasons. First of all, to have an effective work on counter-terrorism, including on fighting terrorism financing; we believe that regional cooperation in the Gulf is key for our security and for the stability of the region and we believe it is also key for economy and trade. Not only is the region very much interconnected, through people, businesses, trade, security, but people, communities are also interlinked around the Gulf and we believe that restoring a good level of regional cooperation in the Gulf is key for the benefit of all citizens of the Gulf, of all people in the Gulf.
We also have a direct European Union interest. First of all because this risks to affect the work we do together on the security. We are together in the coalition against Da’esh, we are together in our efforts to find a way out of the crisis in Syria and we need our partners to come together again. We also have direct European interest in terms of economic investments and trade relations.
And, in general terms, I would like to say that the region has to understand, the Gulf has to understand on all sides that what happens there is relevant for many parts of the world. Again, in terms of security, in terms of stability, in terms of economy, but also in terms of religions. We see a clear risk of the situation escalating further and spreading in an unpleasant and dangerous manner beyond the region of the Gulf, be it in Africa, or in South East Asia or in the Middle East.
Contacts directly with the parties involved will continue in the coming days, always with one purpose – that of supporting the work that Kuwait is doing. We do not want to multiply mediation efforts. For us is clear: there is one mediation effort in place, that is the one that has already succeeded during a similar but less dramatic crisis in 2014. We believe that the Kuwaiti efforts can be successful. We fully support their work and we have put the European Union’s help and support at their disposal to accompany it in the best possible manner.
We will also continue to discuss about this, passing the same messages to other actors who are not directly involved but are taking the situation very seriously, in the region and beyond.
Q. Madame Mogherini, you already referred to the mediation by Kuwait: are you yourself planning to visit the region to support these mediation efforts?
If needed, obviously I would be ready to do it. I agreed with Foreign Minister Al Sabah [of Kuwait] that we will stay in close coordination in these days. I offered all the support that the European Union and me personally can give to the work that Kuwait is doing. So if a visit can be considered useful, first of all by our Kuwaiti friends, I would be ready to do it, anytime. I believe that this will also be one of the topics we will discuss, probably – not my visit, but the situation in the Gulf and the way in which the European can support even more the mediation efforts by Kuwait- also with the Foreign Ministers of the 28 Member States when we will have the Foreign Affairs Council in ten days from now.
Q. Quel était votre message plus particulier au Ministre des Affaires étrangères du Qatar [Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani]? Allez-vous discuter de cela au Conseil des Affaires étrangères [du 19 juin]?
Nous allons débattre le 19 juin au Conseil des Affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne sur la situation; je vais sûrement partager avec les Ministres le travail que nous sommes en train de faire. Nous avons encore 10 jours ; j’espère que d’ici au 19 juin nous allons avoir des évolutions positives plutôt que négatives. L’idéal serait de ne pas devoir aborder la question le 19 juin, Inch’allah, mais cela ne dépend pas de nous.
Ce qui est important de notre côté c’est de garder des liens très étroits et des conversations presque quotidiennes, soit avec le Ministre [des Affaires étrangères] du Qatar [Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani], soit avec le Ministre [des Affaires étrangères] du Royaume d’Arabie saoudite [Adel Al Jubeir] et comme je l’ai dit le Ministre des Affaires étrangères du Koweït pour soutenir les efforts de dialogue.
Il peut y avoir des visions différentes; nous aussi nous avons des visions différentes parfois avec chacun des interlocuteurs dans le Golfe, mais la façon de régler les différences ou même des positions parfois irréconciliables est toujours -nous pensons- à travers le dialogue et il y a toujours la possibilité de trouver une base commune de travail.
Je le répète encore: la priorité pour nous est la lutte contre le terrorisme, la solution à la crise régionale et le maintien de bonnes relations que ce soit pour assurer la stabilité de la région, soit pour maintenir les investissements économiques et commerciaux. Et pour cela, non seulement les citoyens du Golfe, mais aussi l’Europe et le reste du monde ont besoin d’un niveau de coopération et de respect entre les pays du Golfe au sein du GCC.
Jun102017
The EU extends its condolences to the families and friends of all those who lost loved ones and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
These terrorist acts shall not deter the path to peace and security in Somalia.
The European Union stands closely with the Somali federal and regional governments and security forces in their efforts to defeat terrorist activities.
Jun92017
The SNP has won the general election in Scotland. The Tories have lost their majority at Westminster.
Jun92017
9 June 2017 – The first-ever United Nations summit on oceans today wraps up with a global agreement to reserve the decline of the ocean’s health, and more than 1,300 pledged actions for protecting the blue.
“The bar has been raised on global consciousness and awareness of the problem in the oceans,” the President of the UN General Assembly, Peter Thomson, told journalists in New York.
Mr. Thomson, whose native Fiji co-sponsored the event along with Sweden, said the organizers got what they wanted from the conference: “I’m 100 per cent satisfied with the results of this conference. Our aim was high. Our aim was to start the reversal of the cycle.”
The Ocean Conference ends today with the adoption by consensus of a 14-point Call for Action where the participating Heads of State and Government and senior representatives “affirm our strong commitment to conserve and sustainably use our oceans, seas and marine resources tor sustainable development.”
Speaking alongside Mr. Thomson, the Secretary-General of The Ocean Conference, Wu Hongbo, said the negotiated document lists specific measures “to galvanize global commitment and partnerships” for the oceans.
The main points from the political document and this week’s discussions will be part of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the UN’s central body for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015. The HLPF is scheduled to meet next month in New York.
In addition to the political Call for Action, participants – who also included thousands of civil society representatives, academics, artists, financial institutions and other practitioners and activists – pledged actions to conserve and sustainable use the oceans, seas and marine resources. This is the goal of SDG14.
By Friday afternoon, more than 1,300 voluntary commitments had already been registered.
Calling the figure “truly impressive,” Mr. Wu, who is also UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, underscored that the commitments were just for this conference and now comprise “an ocean solution registry.”
The week-long conference, where some 6,000 people participated, was the first time that the UN brought everyone together to discuss the challenges facing the world’s oceans.
“When it comes to the ocean, it’s the common heritage of humankind. There’s no North-South, East-West when it comes to the ocean,” Mr. Thomson said. “If the ocean is dying, it’s dying on all of us.”
The senior official underscored that by “getting the wheels turning” on SDG 14, the conference helped push forward action on all 17 SDGs.
Topics that were discussed ranged from plastic pollution in the oceans and seas to ocean acidification and illegal fishing – which tie in with topics of alleviating poverty, ending hunger, promoting health, ensuring access to water and sanitation, and so on.
Mr. Thomson attributed the success of the conference to the “wonderful way” in which all the different participants came together to discuss and work together.
He lauded the “openness to civil society, to the science sector, to private society” in breaking down the typical divisions between governments and other sectors. “There’s no them and us. It’s all of us or nothing.”
In addition to eight plenary meetings and seven partnership dialogues, The Ocean Conference included 150 side events, 41exhibitions and interviews at the SDG Media Zone.
These included events with New Oceans Advocate and globally-acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter Cody Simpson, as well as Marine biologist Douglas McCauley, Aboriginal artist Sid Bruce Short Joe and Spanish philanthropist Álvaro de Marichalar, for example.
The mix of personalities and strong support for action brought “creativity and a sense of unity” to the action for oceans, said conference co-chairwoman, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabelle Lovin.