The House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) held a special session on Russian oil exploration in the polar region, following on claims that the Rosgeo oil exploration company had reported that its research vessel Alexander Karpinsky has completed a comprehensive subsurface geological survey, mapping very promising oil and gas prospects on the Antarctic oil shelves.
”The UK Government will always protect and promote the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination and only they can decide their future. We want a good relationship with Argentina, but have been very clear that we will never negotiate away the Islanders’ democratic rights. My right honorable Friend the Foreign Secretary (Lord David Cameron) reassured the Islanders about our enduring commitment during his welcome visit to the Falkland Islands last month,“ David Rutley, Under Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, replied to questions from Parliament members on Tuesday, who asked ”What steps he is taking to uphold the Falkland Islanders right to self determination?.
“The FCDO is leading a refresh of the UK's strategy on the Overseas Territories, for publication this year,” said Minister of State Foreign Office for the Americas and Overseas Territories, David Rutley when asked in Parliament about plans to bolster ties and collaboration with the British Overseas Territories.
The Commissioner for South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) has announced plans to extend the spatial extent of No Take Zones in the SGSSI Marine Protected Area (MPA), increasing their area from 283,000km2 to 449,000km2.
Foreign Office minister for the Americas, Caribbean, and Overseas Territories David Rutley has been to the Falkland Islands again this week, the second visit in a month, and in the meantime this did not prevent him from on December 10, to represent the British government in Buenos Aires for the taking office ceremony of Argentine extreme liberal president, Javier Milei.
The Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Trent has been dispatched to Guyana in a show of British support for the Commonwealth nation. Guyana is suffering threats of invasion and land grabbing by neighboring Venezuela which claims some two-thirds of the former British colony's territory.
British Minister for the Americas, Caribbean, and Overseas Territories David Rutley met Monday in Georgetown with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali to reaffirm the United Kingdom's support to the South American country in their controversy with Venezuela over the 160,000 km2 oil-rich Essequibo region.
Foreign Office minister for the Americas, the Caribbean, and British Overseas Territories, David Rutley, has been quite busy in his areas of influence. At the end of October, he visited Peru to commemorate two hundred years of close relations between Britain and the Andean country. Rutley later travelled to Santiago, where he also had a busy agenda given UK's and the Royal Navy strong alliance with Chile.
David Rutley, Foreign Office Minister for the Americas, Caribbean and Overseas Territories, is currently in the Falkland Islands where he arrived on Thursday to show UK' determination in upholding the right of self determination for the Islanders and their democratic decision to belong to the British Family.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Americas and the Caribbean David Rutley was the main speaker at the event celebrating the work and achievements of Canning House during the last eighty years.