Foreign Secretary will visit the Falkland
Islands during the first leg of his first visit to the South
Atlantic, South America and New York.
will meet leaders of the
Falkland Islands Government and see the range of communities that
form part of the British family when he visits Stanley and other
sites around this Overseas Territory.
In the 2013 referendum, Falkland Islanders overwhelmingly voted
to retain their status as a self-governing UK Overseas Territory.
Foreign Secretary said:
The Falkland Islands are a valued part of the British family, and
we are clear that as long as they want to remain part of the
family, the issue of sovereignty will not be up for discussion.
The Falkland Islanders should be proud of the modern, prosperous
community they have built. The Islands are a thriving economy,
where as well as farming and fishing, there is a priority given
to conservation and sustainability.”
The Foreign Secretary will pay his respects to all those British
personnel who served and those who lost their lives during the
conflict in 1982 and thank the UK military personnel serving
on the Islands today.
He will see the Islanders’ work to protect their natural
environment and see some of the million penguins that live across
the Islands.
He will then travel on to Paraguay, where he will be the first UK
Foreign Secretary to ever visit the country. After that, he is
due to go on to the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brazil where
he will discuss G20 agendas on tackling hunger and climate
change and work with partners to advance efforts towards peace in
the Middle East and support for Ukraine.
And lastly, he will head to New York for the UN ahead of the
second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale illegal invasion of
Ukraine.
Background:
- Details of the environmental protection projects: Darwin Plus
funding is used to enhance training for wildfire prevention and
response. FCDO funding is used to restore the native tussac grass
habitats.
- The Falkland Islands is thought to be home to around 20% of
the world’s tussac grass and it is the most important wildlife
habitat on the Islands – home to seals, birds, and invertebrates.
