Latest news with #UKForeignPolicy
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
UK backs Morocco's Sahara plan
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has secured a strategic partnership with Morocco that accepts its plan for the Sahara region to have autonomy under the country's sovereign rule, reversing Britain's long-standing position. Mr Lammy called Morocco's plan 'the most credible, viable and pragmatic' path forward. Morocco administers the region, but its status has strained relations between the country and Algeria, which rejects Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. The neighbouring country, which cut diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, has said it "regrets" Britain's decision. It criticised the autonomy plan, calling it 'empty of content". Britain previously backed self-determination for the region, which Morocco says is an integral part of its kingdom. The US recognised Morocco's sovereignty in 2020. The UN has classified the region, home to 612,000 people, as a 'non-self-governing territory' since 1963 and says the issue needs to be solved through a political process involving all parties. At a joint press conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat on Sunday, Mr Lammy said the UK was changing its position to support Morocco's plan. The plan indicates that Rabat would maintain overall sovereignty and control over defence and foreign relations, while the region would retain the Moroccan flag, national anthem and currency. The ministers also lauded security and trade ties between the countries, noting Morocco's role as co-host of the 2030 Fifa World Cup. "The time for a resolution and to move this issue forward is long overdue, and would strengthen the stability of North Africa," Mr Lammy said. He also repeated support for the UN-led process and called on Morocco to 'expand on details of what autonomy within the Moroccan state could entail" for the Sahara. "This year is a vital window of opportunity to secure a resolution before we reach 50 years of the dispute in November," he added. He also said it encouraged "relevant parties to engage urgently and positively with the United Nations-led political process". Mr Bourita welcomed the shift in policy, saying the new British position contributed "greatly to advancing this momentum and promoting the UN path towards a definitive and mutually acceptable solution based on the autonomy initiative". The UK's shift fulfils one of Morocco's primary foreign policy objectives and makes Britain the third permanent member of the UN Security Council to back Morocco's position, after France and the US announced their support. Spain and Germany also back the Moroccan autonomy plan. The Sahara region has recently emerged as a hot spot for investment, attracting European and US companies interested in fishing, agriculture and infrastructure projects that would allow for the transmission of wind and solar power. Morocco has invested heavily in the region and sought support from trade partners. Morocco and the UK exchange billions of dollars worth of cars, fruit and vegetables. The two countries are working together on XLinks, a renewable energy storage and transmission project. Its backers hope it will power millions of British homes. In a joint statement, Britain said its export credit agency, UK Export Finance, may consider supporting projects in the Sahara as part of a commitment to mobilise £5 billion ($6.7 billion) for new economic initiatives in Morocco.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
UK backs Morocco's claim to disputed Western Sahara
The UK now recognises Morocco 's claim to the disputed Western Sahara, aligning with countries like Israel, France, and Germany. This shift in UK foreign policy is part of a new economic partnership with Morocco, aimed at giving British companies priority in infrastructure projects, including those for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The economic deal is expected to unlock contracts worth around £33bn over the next three years in sectors like water, health, and trade, including a £1.2bn Casablanca airport project. The partnership includes collaboration on Morocco's national healthcare transformation, potentially creating opportunities for the UK health sector and a new £150m hospital project. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that endorsing autonomy within the Moroccan state is the most viable solution to the Western Sahara dispute, supporting conflict resolution and self-determination while strengthening the UK's economic ties with Morocco.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer is determined to let the sun set on Britain, regardless of what we think
In October last year I was trying not to cut myself shaving when Tony Blair's former Chief of Staff, Jonathan Powell, popped onto the radio to talk about the Chagos Islands and why the UK should surrender them to Mauritius. That is, just why the British taxpayer should pay billions to give their own territory away to a third country thousands of miles away from the strategic archipelago (not even its neighbour), and which – in all the complex and intriguing history of those islands – had never ruled over them for so much as half an hour. Refashioned by the Blairite recycling facility as Keir Starmer's National Security Adviser, Powell had been appointed 'Special Envoy' to negotiate with the Mauritius Government: an ominous early warning from the Labour administration. With the world on fire, were there not more pressing matters to resolve in the foreign policy file? Asked whether such a giveaway would make Britain 'smaller', Powell – the man responsible for advising on the United Kingdom's national security – replied with patrician disdain: 'These are very tiny islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean where no one actually goes, so I don't think we should be too worried about losing that bit of territory we're probably losing more to tidal erosion on the east coast'. This most sophisticated of Starmer's political operatives had let the mask slip (not to mention my razor). That comment – and the Chagos giveaway in general – reveals the government's real agenda in foreign and defence policy: Starmer is determined to use his enormous power to shrink the UK's influence and global reach. It's the same old self-limiting – even self-harming – policy all too often promoted by the British elite (of any party). Confusing our allies, and letting down those – like the Chagossians – who honestly seek British protection. How revealing that Powell chose coastal erosion as his metaphor. Isn't that precisely how Starmer and his ilk sees British power and influence: pre-destined to an endless, unstoppable erosion, like the disappearance of a coastal shelf? A Britain forever gradually shrinking in global affairs. In a literal sense, of course, Powell was correct. These are a group of very tiny islands – but the most significant is Diego Garcia, which houses a joint US-UK military base – for the use of which we now must pay billions. A base bristling with vital surveillance equipment, a place to park bombers and submarines in range of the Indo-Pacific; until yesterday, a little piece of Britain in the most contested strategic domain on earth. Yes it's true that not many people actually go – you were very unlikely to have met anyone who had ever visited British Indian Ocean Territory – most of them are at the more secret end of the UK's armed forces. Wasn't that the point? You could not visit the islands without a permit also because the territory was an almost unspoilt conservation zone, with one of the largest protected marine science areas in the world, unique stocks of coral reefs, and some very endangered turtles. Under the strict bylaws, drawn up by world-class ecological experts in the Foreign Office – you couldn't take so much as a can of fizzy drink onto one of the islands without properly accounting for it. Starmer has spoiled all that. Why? No country thinks the value of its territory has anything to do with its size or population density. No Prime Minister approaches sovereignty according to the Powell doctrine. And notwithstanding the Government's vile treatment of the Chagossians – who have legitimate grievances but have been excluded from its process – I'm not sure it's really about that either. Starmer's deal is simply a deliberate choice to lessen the UK's global reach. Deep down, Starmer is not concerned with the intricacies of the Chagossian story, access to the electromagnetic spectrum, or the threat of international courts. He simply believes in creating a smaller, less globally assertive United Kingdom. This deal is a signal to the closely watching world that under his leadership Britain is likely to pull out of its commitments – and can be forced out of deeply historic ones. It is a sign to every international negotiator that the British taxpayer can be taken to the cleaners, and to every international lawyer that they need only raise the threat of a spurious claim and Britain might blink. The only positive I can find is that younger British leaders coming through on the Right all hate it – and many of them are working on reversing the erosion.
