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This week at the Foreign Office

A look at the work of the Foreign Office and its embassies overseas this week.

• From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office, The Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, The Rt Hon William Hague, and Mark Simmonds
• Published: 25 January 2013

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Human Rights

The Foreign Office published new reporting on 28 Countries of Concern, along with updates on case study countries featured in the annual human rights report. The quarterly updates cover the period from October to December 2012.

Yemen

Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that the UK will host the fifth ministerial-level meeting of the Friends of Yemen in London on 7 March, with co-chairs the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen. He said: “Now is the time for action and I look to the meeting in March in the hope that real progress can be made for the future of all Yemenis and the security of the wider region.”

Libya

The Foreign Office urged British nationals to leave Benghazi in response to specific threat to Westerners. Our Travel Advice has been updated to reflect this.

Egypt

Foreign Secretary William Hague marked the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution. He noted the momentous change underway in Egypt and signaled the UK’s commitment to help strengthen democracy.

UAE

FCO Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt hosted the ninth UK-UAE Taskforce in London. He said: “The UAE is a close and valued partner of the UK and the Taskforce has grown to become a central pillar of our effective partnership across a range of issues, from education, trade and investment to counter terrorism.”

Also this week

• The Government published its response to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s report on the role and future of the Commonwealth.

• FCO Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds met Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly at the African Union Summit.

• General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party’s visited the UK for the first time as a sign of the strengthening relationship between UK and Vietnam.

• Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt set out how the FCO’s maritime security programme funds will be spent this financial year.

• UK Trade Minister Lord Green and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hishyar Zebari opened the new Visa Centre in Baghdad.

• Foreign Secretary announces Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti as his interim Special Representative for Climate Change.

Published 25 January 2013