Latest news with #foreignAffairs
Zawya
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Guatemala Considers Autonomy Initiative as 'Only Serious, Credible and Realistic Basis' for Resolving Moroccan Sahara Regional Dispute
The Republic of Guatemala affirmed on Thursday that the autonomy initiative put forward by Morocco in 2007 is 'the only serious, credible and realistic basis to move towards a lasting agreement for a definitive settlement of this artificial conflict, in full respect of the Kingdom's territorial integrity and its national sovereignty.' This position was conveyed by Guatemala's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Ramiro Martinez Alvarado, during a press briefing following his meeting in Rabat with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita. The Guatemalan top diplomat also expressed his country's full support for the Kingdom's efforts to reach a political, realistic, pragmatic, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to this regional dispute. Morocco and Guatemala also underlined their commitment to the sacred principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is worth noting that the Republic of Guatemala was the first Latin American country to open a Consulate General in the city of Dakhla, in December 2022. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Lloyd Axworthy accuses Carney of taking ‘bootlicking' approach to Trump
Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy speaks at a memorial service in Winnipeg on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods OTTAWA — Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of taking a 'bootlicking' approach to U.S. President Donald Trump at the expense of Canadian values. 'You have to be principled, you have to be tactical, you have to be pragmatic. But you also have to be tough and know what you stand for,' Axworthy said in an interview with The Canadian Press. 'Flattery is always part of the game, but you can take it to the point where you actually become unctuous.' Axworthy spoke to The Canadian Press after issuing an online broadside last Sunday against the Carney government. Axworthy, whom prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed as foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 2000, oversaw the Ottawa Treaty that banned landmines in numerous countries. He has been a prominent voice on international relations, including through advocacy with the World Refugee and Migration Council. In a blog post following the NATO summit — where alliance members agreed to Trump's demand for a massive increase in the alliance's defence spending target — Axworthy accused Carney and other world leaders of bending a knee to Trump. 'NATO now risks letting one craven, mendacious man set the tone for a strategy of unrestrained militarism,' Axworthy wrote, arguing it's dangerous to let defence policy be decided by 'the abusive, racist bullying of Donald Trump.' He also argued that the summit did not adequately push to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and instead committed alliance members to a level of defence spending that will lead to cuts to social programs and likely foreign aid. 'A pattern is now set: Trump harrumphs, we comply. What else will we quietly surrender? Cultural industries? Environmental standards, agriculture security, Arctic sovereignty?' he wrote. In the interview, Axworthy singled out NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's exchange with Trump during the NATO summit — which saw Rutte refer to the president as 'daddy' — as an 'embarrassing' moment. He also said his concerns have been further bolstered by Carney's decision to rescind the digital services tax that targeted American tech giants, as the prime minister and Trump undertake what he calls 'secret' trade negotiations with no parliamentary scrutiny. 'When do we stop pretending it's all part of some clever negotiating strategy that justifies bootlicking in hopes of tariff concessions?' he wrote in the blog post. Trump suggested in March that the U.S. might sell allies fighter jets that lack the same capabilities as those used by the U.S. military. Axworthy told The Canadian Press it's unwise to accept a situation where 'the Pentagon controls the black boxes in your airplanes and your destroyers.' Axworthy said he sees the Carney government pushing ahead with foreign policy and domestic legislation focused on economic security, while ignoring the need to invest in diplomacy to prevent conflicts and defend Canadian values abroad. Instead of solely focusing on military spending, he said Ottawa could mobilize investment and governments of various countries to have better freshwater management, because numerous countries are on track for major droughts that can lead to armed conflict. Axworthy said Carney's major-projects legislation, Bill C-5, has undercut reconciliation efforts with First Nations and the government 'ignored' Indigenous Peoples in its rush to get the bill passed. 'It's way past (just) being consulted. They have to be partners. They have to be involved. They're basically the third pillar of this country,' the former Manitoba MP said of Indigenous Peoples. 'You're going to get the machinery working, but you're going to leave a lot of roadkill along the way.' The government fast-tracked the sweeping legislation and opted against shortening the 12-week summer break to give it more study. Carney's office has not yet responded for a request for comment. The prime minister himself was extolling the virtues of Canadian democracy Tuesday. 'We find ourselves in a situation where our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms — attacks that we must resist,' Carney said in his Canada Day remarks. 'In a world that's fraught with division … we've decided not to pull apart and fight, but to come together and to build.' Axworthy noted that Carney came from a life outside politics and said that's among the reasons why he endorsed Chrystia Freeland instead of Carney in this year's Liberal leadership race. 'I don't think he's ever knocked on that door or gone to a constituency meeting until he became a leadership candidate,' he said in the interview. Axworthy repeated an idea he floated in January — that Ottawa should work with the countries Trump has talked of absorbing to mount a campaign to promote rules-based trade and peace in the Arctic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives Messages from Presidents of Angola, Vietnam
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received a written message from President of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, concerning relations and ways to enhance cooperation across various fields. The message was received on behalf of the King by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji during a meeting on Monday at the Ministry's headquarters in Riyadh with Angolan Ambassador Frederico Cardoso. The two sides reviewed bilateral relations, explored avenues to further strengthen cooperation, and discussed issues of common interest. King Salman also received a written message from Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. The message addressed the relations between the two countries and ways to enhance cooperation across various fields. The message was received by Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs and General Supervisor of the Public Diplomacy Deputyship Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi during his meeting with Vietnam's Ambassador, Hoang Huu Anh, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' headquarters in Riyadh.
The Independent
21-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Whitehall isn't working – here's how the PM can fix it
It never rains but it pours for Keir Starmer. He is fighting to stop the Iran crisis wrecking his one success as prime minister – a solid performance on foreign affairs in which he somehow maintains a productive relationship with Donald Trump. Insiders tell me Starmer's efforts are aimed at persuading Iran to enter meaningful talks on its nuclear programme and then convincing a highly sceptical US president that Iran is serious about negotiations. But if Trump goes ahead with his threat to bomb Iran, Starmer's special relationship with him could conceivably be stretched to breaking point. The prime minister can't escape his woes on domestic matters. His intense diplomacy was interrupted on Thursday by the unwelcome news that Vicky Foxcroft had resigned as a whip in protest at the government's cuts to disability benefits. She might not be the last to quit a government post before the crunch vote on £5bn of welfare cuts on 1 July, when Starmer faces the biggest Labour revolt of his premiership. Some parliamentary aides to ministers are on resignation watch. The government's robotic response to Foxcroft's departure, which failed to acknowledge her respected work as shadow disabilities minister before last year's election, angered some Labour MPs. Many will rebel with a heavy heart. They accept the need to reduce the ballooning welfare budget, but think the panicky cuts ahead of Rachel Reeves's spring statement symbolise how the government repeatedly reacts to events – in this case, living from hand to mouth to stick within the chancellor's fiscal rules – instead of having a long-term reform strategy. For some Whitehall-watchers, Starmer will not improve matters unless he reforms the centre of government. Critics think the relationship between No 10 and the Cabinet Office isn't working, leaving the other side of the triangle, the Treasury, to call the shots. The result: the winter fuel allowance catastrophe and now the welfare rebellion. Even some in Downing Street admit privately a shake-up is needed. Sam Freedman, a former special adviser and author of an excellent book, Failed State, suggests loosening the Treasury's grip by forming an Office of Budget Management, run jointly by the Treasury and Downing Street, which would oversee future spending reviews to ensure they reflect the PM's priorities. Freedman believes Starmer should consider a change Tony Blair introduced in his second term, which improved public service delivery. To prevent the whole operation being sucked into reacting to events, three units focused on different timescales: a policy unit on day-to-day oversight of Whitehall departments; a delivery unit on a small number of the PM's priorities (in Starmer's case, that would be his five missions); and a strategy unit on difficult long-term challenges. This ensured a more strategic state. One problem today is that the 'missions delivery unit' is based in the Cabinet Office rather than No 10. The Institute for Government (IFG) think tank has made a sensible proposal to abolish the Cabinet Office and set up an expanded 'Office of the Prime Minister', which would then take charge of the missions. Do such structures really matter? Yes. They are even more important when a PM makes a virtue out of his pragmatism and lack of ideology, as Starmer does. Like many predecessors, Starmer complains the Whitehall machine is slow to crank into life when he demands action. Often fair – but civil servants also have a point when they grumble that this government does not give them clear enough marching orders. For example, the government's own commitment to Starmer's missions – later relaunched as six milestones in his 'plan for change' – is now being questioned in Whitehall. Ministers promised the missions would be the 'guiding star' of the government-wide spending review unveiled by Reeves last week, and that cabinet ministers would collaborate on cross-departmental working and budgets. Only one problem: there was little money to go round. So the review again became a trial of strength between the Treasury and individual ministers trying to protect their departments. Starmer's 'mission-driven government' was caught in the crossfire and some Whitehall officials think the idea suffered serious damage. The IFG calculates that two of the missions – on economic growth and clean energy – did well out of the spending review, but the other three – on health, safer streets and opportunity – look difficult to achieve. Another reason why the missions matter is that this government doesn't have the option of pumping in extra cash to secure the improvements to public services voters want, as Blair and Gordon Brown enjoyed. Although Reeves won headlines for her big boost to building projects, her squeeze on day-to-day budgets is viewed in Whitehall as a 'standstill settlement'. So reform and efficiency savings will be needed to secure tangible improvements – not least in the NHS. The missions can play a part in prioritising these goals. With many public services still struggling in the voters' eyes, standing still will not win Labour a second term.
BreakingNews.ie
06-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Department of Foreign Affairs spent almost €1.4m on diplomatic bags
The Department of Foreign Affairs has spent almost €1.4 million in the past two years on diplomatic bags – special pouches typically used to transport documents and other items between embassies. The official use of the bags came under scrutiny in 2022 after it emerged that they had been deployed to send novelty socks and empty gift bags from Dublin to New York – prompting the department to issue a reminder to staff about 'appropriate use'. Advertisement However, the amount of money spent sending diplomatic bags between the department and its overseas missions has continued to increase since then. Records released under the Freedom of Information Act stated that dispatching the special pouches had cost more than €2 million in 2023 and 2024. However, the department later said this was a 'clerical error' and put the actual figure at just under €1.4 million. Diplomatic bags are afforded special status under international law, meaning that they cannot be opened or detained by officials in other countries, and their couriers enjoy diplomatic protection. Use of the expensive courier system was questioned after it was used to transport 22 empty gift bags from Dublin to Ireland's UN mission in New York for the country's bid to win a seat on the Security Council. Advertisement The same bags had earlier been delivered to Iveagh House in Dublin from a supplier based in New York. At the time, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy linked a sharp increase in the spend on diplomatic bags to the Security Council bid, claiming that 'sending novelty socks… had cost the public €100,000'. He called for 'much stricter rules' to ensure that the bags were only used for 'necessary official work'. Ireland Over €1m spent on new cars by Department of Foreig... Read More A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the diplomatic bag service was used to transmit post, official documents and equipment to and from Ireland's network of 103 diplomatic and consular missions worldwide. Advertisement 'The diplomatic bag is used for official purposes only and generally includes items such as citizens' passports, return of official documents to citizens, visas, ICT equipment, diplomatic mail, etc.,' he said. The spokesman described diplomatic bags as 'an essential and confidential service' that is regulated under the Vienna Convention, which protects the confidentiality of the contents of the bag as it is not allowed to be opened or inspected. 'On an annual basis, an average of 5,000 diplomatic bags are sent and received by the department's registry team based at HQ… The cost in 2023 was €670,757 and in 2024 was €725,430,' he added, explaining that figures contained in records released by the department contained a 'clerical error'.
