Lord Oates
Main Page: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question and for his kind words. The Government’s position is that countries must pursue commercial access to the sea through peaceful, negotiated means. The UK does not support aggressive action or rhetoric that threatens a country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The previous Foreign Secretary spoke to Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion in August, when he warned against the risk of miscalculation and encouraged dialogue with Eritrea. Similar points have been made to the Eritrean Government by our officials there.
Lord Oates (LD)
My Lords, I also welcome the noble Lord to his place, but does he recognise that the UK’s influence in the Horn of Africa and across the continent has been greatly diminished by a lack of consistent political leadership in the FCDO, exemplified by having no fewer than eight different Foreign Secretaries and nine different Ministers for Africa since 2016? Does he share my dismay that, despite promises of a new partnership with Africa, the current Government have acted like their predecessor in moving aside a highly regarded Africa Minister just over a year into his post and further diminishing our already waning influence on the continent?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question. The Government recognise that we need a new approach to Africa to reflect that the world and Africa have changed. We must progress beyond the paternalistic approach of previous Governments, which too often saw relationships through the lens of old-fashioned aid and short-term deals. In June, a summary was published of a wide-ranging consultation undertaken with African Governments, multilateral institutions, businesses, civil society, creatives, academia and diaspora organisations. Led by the Foreign Secretary, this Government are drawing on the evidence to shape and inform the new approach. We believe the UK can be a partner to Africa to boost sustainable growth, combat the climate crisis, tackle insecurity and address our migration priorities, drawing on our shared cultural and people-to-people links. That will remain the Government’s view despite ministerial changes. That is our plan, and that is what we shall seek.