Britain will on Thursday hold a virtual a meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the meeting earlier Wednesday, while a UK official told AFP the meeting would be virtual and held on Thursday.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street news conference.
The meeting will “assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities”, he added.
“Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped,” he added.
The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, said Starmer.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.
