Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the UK’s soft power capabilities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Soft power is fundamental to the UK's impact and reputation around the world. It fosters friendships, builds relationships, promotes our values, and drives our own growth and prosperity. But we have not taken a sufficiently strategic approach to our huge soft power assets as a country. This is why we have set up a Soft Power Council to channel British expertise in these areas. Members of the Soft Power Council are establishing working groups to devise ways of deploying our soft power and broadening the reach of key moments in the global calendar. They will also help shape and drive a new Soft Power Strategy for the UK that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of UK soft power in advancing Britain’s diplomatic interests.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Soft power is crucial to our standing in the world: it fosters friendships, builds relationships, supports efforts to strengthen the rule of law internationally, and drives our own growth and prosperity. But we need to use it more effectively. This is why the Foreign Secretary and Culture Secretary have launched the UK Soft Power Council. The Council will help shape and drive a new Soft Power Strategy that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities, bring momentum to campaigns, and broaden the reach of the major soft power and foreign policy moments in the global calendar. Detailed metrics to measure the impact of soft power on UK priorities will be developed as part of the new UK Soft Power Strategy.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of 25 April 2024 by the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Official Report, column 387WH, what steps his Department is taking to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty in time for the UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) is in line with this Government's determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature, and we are fully committed to doing so. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement to allow ratification will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty by June 2025.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) is in line with this Government's determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature and our mission to 'create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.' Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows. There is no deadline for ratification.