The first visit in ten years to Mexico by a British Foreign Secretary is intended to reaffirm the close and growing relationship between the UK and Mexico. The talks follow the successful State Visit to the UK by President Peña Nieto in March 2015 and each country using 2015 to celebrate the other’s contributions in arts, culture and innovation.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond became on Thursday the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Cuba since 1959. In a series of high-level meetings, the Foreign Secretary will call on his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez and other government leaders to discuss the recent social and economic changes in Cuba, human rights, trade and investment, and the fight against global health threats such as the Zika virus.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has arrived in Colombia to highlight the UK’s support for the country’s peace process and fight against narcotics during visits to Bogota and Cartagena.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon is scheduled to visit the Falkland Islands this week, the first such visit in over a decade. However the timing of the visit has caused some irritation with the Foreign Office, according to the London media, since it could interfere with the current approach with the new Argentine administration.
British fighter-bombers took off from an RAF airbase in Cyprus hours after parliament voted in favor of airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in Syria. The Ministry of Defense would not go into details but said the vote late Wednesday could mean “surveillance or operational missions over Syria.”Lawmakers voted 397 in favor of action and 223 against, following a 10-hour debate
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, MP Andrew Rosindel and Charles Tannock MEP, were among several personalities that visited the Falkland Islands stand at the Conservative Conference which is taking place in Manchester. He was met by Falklands lawmakers Jan Cheek and Roger Edwards, and Sukey Cameron, head of FIGO, Falklands' government office in London.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has issued a firm hands-off warning to Argentina by insisting the government will “never sell out” the Falkland Islands. The Foreign Secretary insisted the “bullying and harassment” against the Islanders must stop, adding it is counter-productive and “shameful”.
The British embassy in Iran has reopened, nearly four years after it was closed. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond attended a ceremony on Sunday in Teheran with Iranian diplomats to mark the reopening while Iran has also reopened its embassy in London.
The Argentine court order that assets of several international oil companies drilling for oil in the Falkland Islands be seized has caused mild turbulence in their share prices. Tierra del Fuego judge Lilian Herraez ordered the authorities to seize bank accounts, boats and other assets worth an estimated US$156mln.
Prime Minister David Cameron will hold an early referendum on membership of the European Union if he can first reach a deal that satisfies his demands for major changes in Britain's relationship with the bloc, his spokesman said yesterday.