Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt speaks about the UK’s contribution
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has spoken about the UK’s contribution to international efforts against piracy. Originally given at UK Chamber of Shipping.
”The United Kingdom is an island nation. We are rightly proud of our maritime past, but it is our present and our future with which I am primarily concerned. The British Shipping industry is a vital part of both our economy and society – employing over 48,000 of our citizens and turning over in excess of 12 billion. It is the Government’s responsibility to promote and protect UK shipping interests, and the space in which they operate.”
”So the Government is determined to stay the course. We will continue to support our partners in the UN to deliver on the ground, and I will come onto the specific ways in which we are going to expand our support shortly. And we must continue to work with our partners in industry and internationally to continue driving down piracy.”
Mr Burt warned that piracy was not confined to Somalia and there had been a “worrying increase” in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa, which the government is also tackling with international partners.
The UK is to give 2.2m to support international efforts to crack down on piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Source: GOV.UK