Olympic Roundup - Friday 27 July
Today's look at Foreign Office activity and the events taking place in and around the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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Foreign Secretary William Hague has spoken at an event, attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, to celebrate the Olympic Truce. In his speech, the Foreign Secretary called on the Assad regime to call off its assault on the city of Aleppo, in what he said was an “utterly unacceptable escalation of the conflict.” Read the Foreign Secretary’s full speech.
- In pictures: **Foreign Secretary William Hague ** meets United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
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Foreign Secretary William Hague has given a speech at the China Business summit at the British Business Embassy in Lancaster House.
In his speech, the Foreign Secretary referred to 2012 as an important year for UK-China relations and said that the two countries should continue to build a strong and transparent partnership between our two countries. Read the speech in full.
- In pictures: Foreign Secretary William Hague meets Chinese State Councillor Mr Dai Bingguo.
- Foreign Secretary William Hague has met Prime Minister of Haiti Laurent Lamothe in London ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Prime Minister Lamothe, who is leading the Haitian delegation to the Olympics, is a former tennis player, and he represented his country at the Davis Cup in 1994 and 1995.
- In pictures: Foreign Secretary William Hague meets Anand Sharma, Indian Minister of Commerce & Industry.
- Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr Salam Fayyad has been welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt and the Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell
- Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham has held a meeting with Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita of Djibouti. The Minister welcomed the Prime Minister to London on his first trip to the United Kingdom and conveyed his best wishes to Djibouti for the Olympics.
- Minister for Europe David Lidington has met Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat. During the meeting they discussed free trade, human rights issues and Moldova’s ambitious programme of political, economic and social reforms.
- Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham has welcomed the President and First Lady of la Cote d’Ivoire to London for the 2012 Olympics Games. Mr Bellingham said he was delighted to welcome the President and First Lady and spoke of the relationship between the UK and Cote d’Ivoire.
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In pictures: Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne meets Herman Longsworth, Belize Minister of State for Education, Youth and Sports, and Belize High Commissioner, Perla Perdoma
- In pictures: Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham meets Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis.
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At 08:12 on 27th July 2012, thousands of people across the UK joined together to ring in the first day of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Listen to our recording of Big Ben and read more about the All the Bells campaign.
- Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt last night celebrated Ramadan with British Muslims at an Iftar event organised by Islamic Relief.