Lammy says Euro-Atlantic security is foreign affairs, defense priority

Lammy highlighted that Euro-Atlantic security is “this government’s foreign and defence priority.”…reports Asian Lite News

Britain is set to commit to bolstering European security as the foreign secretary visits the Norwegian military command on Wednesday.

David Lammy will visit Norwegian Joint Headquarters with his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide to discuss the deepening UK-Norway security collaboration.

During the visit, the ministers will reinforce both countries’ “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine and tackling “threats from Russia including their Shadow Fleet,” according to a statement by the Foreign Office.

It noted that Lammy and Eide will discuss the UK’s and Norway’s joint work in the High North to detect, deter, and contain threats and defend NATO’s northern flank.

In the statement, Lammy highlighted that Euro-Atlantic security is “this government’s foreign and defence priority.”

“With the return of war to the European continent, the UK’s relationship with Norway, as a key ally in the defence of NATO’s northern flank, has never been more important,” he added.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, “With the return of war to the European continent, the UK’s relationship with Norway, as a key ally in the defence of NATO’s northern flank, has never been more important. We are both unwavering in our support to Ukraine, and together we are training and supporting the Ukrainian armed forces including boosting the country’s air defence and maritime capabilities. Norway acts as our eyes and ears in the High North; our joint work at the Norwegian military headquarters underlines the importance of our work to bolster Europe’s defences. Euro-Atlantic security is this government’s foreign and defence priority.”

In the face of Russia’s sustained malign influence campaigns, and its recent baseless expulsion of British diplomats, the UK and Norway will agree to enhance intelligence-sharing and cooperation to counter Russian disinformation networks in Europe and beyond.

The Foreign Secretary will welcome Norway’s navy patrols of the waters between the UK and the Russian Northern Fleet, detecting, deterring and managing increasingly sophisticated subsea threats to energy, security and critical national infrastructure.

Norway is an important ally on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, especially when it comes to ongoing conflict in Gaza. The UK and Norway are also focused on ensuring joint ambition on development truly delivers for global partners.

Norway is also a key trading partner in supplying the UK with the energy it needs to power growth. That is why the UK and Norwegian Prime Ministers agreed in July to begin work on a new Norwegian-UK partnership on security and the energy transition.

ALSO READ: Starmers’s Gray Quid Row