{"id":7629,"date":"2026-04-20T11:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/7629\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T11:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:04:17","slug":"france-and-uk-underline-determination-to-support-freedom-of-navigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/7629\/","title":{"rendered":"France and UK underline determination to support freedom of navigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

France and the United Kingdom convened 51 countries<\/a> for an international summit on the Strait of Hormuz on 17 April.<\/p>\n

As explained, the meeting underlined the determination of the international community to support freedom of navigation, to stand up for international law, and to protect global economic stability and energy security.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, as noted in a joint statement, the United Kingdom, France, and their partners will draw on collective diplomatic, economic, and military capabilities to support freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

An unconditional, unrestricted and immediate re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz is called for. The right of transit passage without restrictions or tolls is the foundation of international trade. Freedom of navigation requires navigation to remain free. The announcement of the Strait\u2019s re-opening was welcomed, with emphasis that this must be sustained.<\/p>\n

Disruption to global energy security, supply chains, and economic and financial stability must end, for the benefit of communities worldwide, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. Coordination of economic responses is essential, with avoidance of protectionist measures.<\/p>\n

However, following the Summit, on 18 April, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz escalated again when Iran reversed its earlier decision to reopen the waterway. Reports indicated that the Strait was reimposed under strict restrictions amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, an independent and strictly defensive multinational mission is being established by France and the United Kingdom to protect merchant vessels, reassure commercial shipping operators and conduct mine clearance operations as soon as conditions permit following a sustainable ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n

The international mission will remain strictly defensive, operate in full accordance with international law, and be conducted in consultation with relevant states. Appreciation is extended to nations indicating readiness to contribute in line with their constitutional procedures, whether through military assets, logistical support, financial contributions, or political solidarity.<\/p>\n

All countries with an interest in the free flow of global trade are encouraged to support this initiative. The United Kingdom and France will jointly advance this initiative, including coordination of military planning with contributing nations. The next Leaders\u2019 meeting in this format will be hosted by the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Following the publication of the statement, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Somalia, Cyprus, Poland, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Bahrain, North Macedonia, Latvia, Greece and Iceland confirmed they also joined this joint leaders\u2019 statement.<\/p>\n

Remarks by the IMO Secretary General<\/p>\n

According to the IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, the geopolitical conflict around the Strait of Hormuz is having a severe negative impact on seafarers and shipping, as well as on the global population and economy.<\/p>\n

In his address to the Summit he highlighted that the principle of freedom of navigation is not negotiable.<\/p>\n

In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and customary international law:<\/p>\n

Any deviation from these established principles would set a negative precedent and severely undermine the integrity and stability of global shipping operations.<\/p>\n

Since 1968, the International Maritime Organization has established a traffic separation scheme, or maritime corridor, in the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime corridor, jointly operated between Oman and Iran, has ensured safe navigation for decades. It is a mandatory mechanism under IMO Safety of Life at Sea rules, to which both countries are signatories.<\/p>\n

\u2026said Dominguez.<\/p>\n

Arsenio Dominguez also requested support to intensify diplomatic engagement with the IMO and the United Nations as a whole, in particular to:<\/p>\n

Uphold the principle of freedom of navigation;
\nReject the imposition of tolls, fees, or discriminatory transit measures in straits used for international navigation;
\nSupport the IMO plan to facilitate evacuation of affected seafarers;
\nAssist, at the appropriate time, with the clearance of hazards to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including mines;
\nProvide technical and operational civilian assistance to operationalize the evacuation framework; and
\nEnsure practical assurances to the shipping sector, including access to affordable insurance, to enable a return to normal operations as soon as practicable.<\/p>\n

I would like to close by appreciating the support provided by the countries in the region in delivering essential supplies to seafarers in the Persian Gulf, safeguarding their well-being and to continue to do so, and also to facilitate crew changes when safe and possible. Shipping and seafarers should never be used as leverage in geopolitical conflicts.<\/p>\n

\u2026concluded Dominguez.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France and the United Kingdom convened 51 countries for an international summit on the Strait of Hormuz on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5,309,340,6208,955],"class_list":{"0":"post-7629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-france","9":"tag-iran-war","10":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","11":"tag-trends","12":"tag-uk"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}