Tag Archives: HM Government

The Defence Secretary will agree the new programme of UK-French training during his first bilateral meeting with Florence Parly, the newly appointed French Minister for the Armed Forces in Paris later today.

In September, over 1,500 British soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade will be joined by troops from 11eme Brigade Parachitiste on NATO exercise Swift Response in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Meanwhile, French troops also plan to join 1,000 UK personnel from 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment on Exercise Askari Storm in Kenya in November, training on the prevention of instability and the spread of violent extremism.

During the visit, the Defence Secretary will also praise the French troops who have been deployed to Estonia as part of the UK-led enhanced Forward Presence battalion in the country since April this year.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

The UK and France have a long enduring relationship and that will continue as the UK leaves the European Union.

We are deployed together in NATO, fighting against Daesh in Iraq and Syria and training together across the globe.

This announcement is the latest in a string of partnerships that highlight the enduring strength of the UK-French defence relationship.

Earlier this year, the UK and France signed a €100million agreement to develop future long range weapons and are working together on an unmanned combat air system. And as the UK prepares for HMS Queen Elizabeth to reach operational capability in 2020, France is expected to play her part in supporting the Carrier Strike Group, as the UK did with the French carrier Charles De Gualle in the Gulf during 2015 when HMS Kent was integrated into her task group.

The UK and France also run a personnel exchange programme. Improving how we work together, there are currently over 40 personnel working in reciprocal roles across the three services.

The Defence Secretary has also announced that the RAF Red Arrows will start their European and Gulf tour in France on 15th September, Battle of Britain Day, with a flypast in Cannes.

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In light of serious challenges to the rules-based international order – most recently the unprecedented threat posed by North Korea – the Prime Minister Theresa May is set to announce a significant step up in cooperation.

Japan is already the UK’s closest security partner in Asia, and the Prime Minister will say that even closer cooperation will ensure we can continue to stand alongside our Japanese friends and allies to further our shared interests and meet our shared challenges in an uncertain world.

The Prime Minister is expected to say that Japan is a natural partner for the UK on defence and security issues, as two outward-looking countries both firmly committed to supporting the rules-based international system and the promotion of democratic values.

As responsible members of the United Nations and through our cooperation on the Security Council, we work together in pursuit of important common foreign policy goals, including finding a peaceful solution to the North Korean problem and ensuring the rigorous implementation of sanctions against the North Korean regime. Our military personnel also work alongside one another in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, and we are jointly leading pioneering de-mining and peacekeeping work across Africa.

Highlighting the importance both sides are placing on working more closely together than ever before, the Prime Minister will today attend a meeting of the Japanese National Security Council in Tokyo – becoming only the second ever foreign leader to do so and the first European leader ever to be granted such privileged access.

The two leaders are expected to agree a new “Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation” with the UK, which will include.

• Defence:

  While recognising that our work together on defence is already particularly strong, with our Typhoon fighter jets exercising in Japan last year for example, the Prime Minister will announce that we are now taking this even further with the deployment of HMS Argyll to the region in December 2018, and UK troops exercising jointly with their Japanese counterparts next year. This will be a first for non-US troops on Japanese soil.

• Cyber Security:

  Following PM Abe’s visit to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre earlier this year, the UK and Japan will agree to cooperate on cyber security ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and share best practice and expertise, including through an exchange of expert visits. The UK’s support, built on decades of expertise in managing cyber crime and other malicious cyber activity, will help enhance Games security.

• Counter Terrorism:

  The two countries will agree much improved information-sharing and will strengthen cooperation on aviation security and tackling violent extremism. We will also offer practical support to Japan’s Olympics counter-terrorism preparation, sharing best practice on mass event safety and security through expert exchanges.

The Prime Minister will visit the headquarters of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) at Yokosuka outside Tokyo today, where she will receive a briefing from Japanese and UK military personnel on-board IZUMO, the largest vessel in the JMSDF. The briefing will focus on the strength of the UK-Japan defence relationship, including joint mine countermeasures work in the region.

Speaking at the National Security Council today, the Prime Minister will say:

It is a great honour to be invited to attend this meeting of Japan’s National Security Council.

As two outward-facing countries with many shared priorities and shared challenges, Japan remains a natural partner for us on defence and security issues.

I am determined that our defence and security cooperation will continue to go from strength to strength, enhancing our collective response to threats to the international order and to global peace and security, through increased cooperation on defence, cyber security, and counter-terrorism.

And that must include confronting the threat that North Korea poses and ensuring the regime stops its aggressive acts.

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The questionnaires are for children and young people as well as parents, carers and staff.

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Innovate UK has up to £25 million to invest in emerging and enabling technologies that could support UK economic growth in the future.

Projects can be carried out in a range of areas including:

• emerging technologies such as biofilms, energy harvesting, graphene and imaging
• digital technologies
• electronics sensors and photonics
• robotics and autonomous systems
• creative economy and design
• space applications

The aim is to support technologies that have the potential to transform commercial markets or that could make a difference to UK economic growth across many different sectors.

Up to £15 million of the funding has been set aside for research and development projects. A further £10 million is for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

• the competition opens on 4 September 2017, and the deadline for applications is midday on 8 November 2017
• research and development projects:
  • must involve at least one SME, working alone or in collaboration
  • must involve at least 2 partners working together if project costs are more than £100,000
  • can vary in size between £35,000 and £2 million and last between 3 months and 3 years
• businesses can attract up to 70% of their total project costs
• funding is available for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, which link a business with an academic or research organisation and a qualified graduate
• briefing events take place across the UK during September

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Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Development Secretary Priti Patel have visited Nigeria to see how the UK is leading the international response to the humanitarian crisis in the north east of the country, helping to avert famine and build stability and security after the destruction caused by militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

On their first joint visit, showing how the UK’s response includes both security and humanitarian efforts, they both saw and heard how British military have been providing training to Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram on the front line, and Priti Patel announced a new package of humanitarian support that is saving and changing lives.

Parts of north east Nigeria, including ‎the outskirts of Maiduguri – a city that the Secretaries of State visited – have been decimated by attacks from Boko Haram.

The militant group have killed over 20,000 people, displaced 1.7 million and left 8.5 million in desperate need of urgent support, in some cases on the brink of famine.

Ongoing attacks continue to destroy communities, with recent reports of children being forced to carry suicide bombs.

The UK’s increased support will extend DFID’s humanitarian programme in Nigeria over five years (2017-2022) to deliver:

• lifesaving food for more than 1.5 million people on the brink of famine;
• treatment for up to 120,000 children at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition;
• ongoing support to help keep 100,000 girls and boys in school to get a decent education, providing a brighter future for the next generation;
• safe humanitarian access to transport brave aid workers and deliver aid to the hardest to reach areas, for example using helicopters where roads are blocked or dangerous to use.

The UK has so far trained over 28,500 Nigerian military personnel, of whom a significant number have been deployed on counter-insurgency operations in north east Nigeria.

This includes counter-terrorism cooperation, providing training on response to terrorist attacks, bomb scene management, and improving aviation security.

By tackling the threat posed by terrorism across Africa, the UK government is not only helping ensure long-term security in the area, so that people who have lost everything are kept safe and can rebuild their lives, but also protecting the British public.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

It is catastrophic that at least 20,000 people have been murdered by Boko Haram’s terrorist regime, and over five million people have been left hungry and many homeless. Babies’ bodies are shutting down and mothers who have lost everything are fighting to keep their children alive.

Global Britain is a country that stands tall in the world and the UK will not turn its back on people living in danger and desperation.

We are leading the way on the international stage through our world-class development, defence and diplomacy, providing a lifeline to over 1.5 million people on the brink of famine, tackling Boko Haram and pushing for global aid reform to deliver help more effectively.

Terrorism knows no borders and the Nigerian Government must now follow our lead to stop innocent people dying and securing the area so that these people can rebuild their lives in safety – reducing the threat of radicalisation and migration for the UK at home.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Boko Haram has generated suffering, instability and poverty on a huge scale, with profound knock on effects far from Nigeria’s borders, and I am proud of Britain’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian people in tackling terror.

In Maiduguri I met casualties of Boko Haram violence, including bomb and gunshot victims, and saw for myself the displacement of people that brutality and poverty have created.

Our military, diplomatic and development assistance is making a big difference. The British military has to date trained 28,000 Nigerian troops, equipping them with skills to turn the tide against Boko Haram, while our humanitarian aid is alleviating widespread suffering. This is about helping a Commonwealth partner in its time of need as well as addressing the root causes of international challenges such as migration.

The new package of emergency relief announced today also includes the restoration of key infrastructure and services in north east Nigeria.

This includes giving children living in conflict zones an education, improving access to health care, helping smallholder famers to restore their livelihoods and produce food to generate higher incomes, and introducing innovative solar energy to power schools and health centres.

This longer term restoration work combined with our military support will enable the poorest and most vulnerable people to stand on their own two feet and rebuild their lives in safety.

Notes to Editors:

• The £200 million support is an allocation of DFID Nigeria’s budget for four years from 2018 – 2022, building on our existing £100 million of humanitarian support for 2017 that the International Development Secretary Priti Patel announced earlier this year.
• The programme will be delivered through capable and cost effective partners including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); UN agencies such as UNICEF, WFP, United Nations Humanitarian Air Service; INGOs and private sector partners.
• This is part of a wider UK Government package of support in the north east including political, military and intelligence support to tackle Boko Haram, and reduce conflict and bring stability to the area – helping to reduce the threat of radicalisation and migration to the UK.
• So far 500 UK military personnel have provided training to the Nigerian Armed Forces
• Over 40 UK military personnel have been deployed to Nigeria on an enduring basis
• Over 28,500 Nigerian military have been trained by the UK to date

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