- UK and France convene military planners
to advance multinational mission to re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
-
Over 30 nations expected to attend the conference
at UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters in North London.
- Military planners will turn diplomatic consensus into a
detailed military plan for the Strait when hostilities end.
Military planners from over 30
nations will today (Wednesday
22 April) advance detailed planning to reopen
the Strait of Hormuz in a two-day UK-hosted
conference.
The planning talks will take place at the UK's
Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, North London.
The work is part of the UK and French
leadership of a multinational coalition to reopen the
Strait. The
sessions will advance military plans
to reopen the Strait, as soon as conditions permit,
following a sustainable ceasefire agreement.
The planning sessions build on the progress
made last week by the Prime
Minister Sir and French President
Emmanual Macron at an international summit of 51
countries in Paris.
At the Summit, they called for the unconditional,
unrestricted, and immediate re-opening of the Strait of
Hormuz and confirmed the establishment of
an independent and strictly defensive multinational mission
to protect merchant vessels, reassure commercial
shipping operators and conduct mine clearance
operations.
Speaking ahead of the conference, the UK Defence
Secretary MP, said:
“Today's multinational planning conference matters. The task,
today and tomorrow, is to translate the diplomatic consensus into
a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait and
support a lasting ceasefire. I am confident that, over the next
two days, real progress can be made.
“International trade, energy security and the stability of the
global economy depend on freedom of navigation. By building on
our common purpose, strengthening multinational coordination and
planning for effective collective action, we can help reopen the
Strait, stabilise the global economy and protect our people.
“On behalf of people in Britain and internationally whose
security and prosperity depend on their success, we are grateful
to the planners for their urgency and expertise. We look forward
to the outcome of this work.”
The UK and France are working to ensure that
the military plan involves as many partners as possible and
brings the expertise of each
nation together in support of our shared
interests.
The planning conference will take place over two-days,
allowing for detailed discussions on military
capabilities, command and control, and how military
forces can deploy to the region.
These talks come as Iran continues
its effective illegal closure of
the critical international shipping in
the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the
world's oil passes. The closure has driven up global energy
prices, disrupted supply chains, and pushed up costs for
households and businesses in the UK and around the world.
