This unilateral action by the banks has singled out account holders on the basis of their British residency or nationality, in what appears to be a targeted and discriminatory manner.

We continue to raise our strong concerns with senior representatives of the Lebanese government, the Lebanese financial authorities and Lebanon’s banking institutions.

Since the banks began closing accounts, British Ambassador Ian Collard has met the Depositors Union, the Chair of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, senior representatives of some of the banking institutions, the Chair of the Banking Control Commission, the Governor of the Central Bank and the Prime Minister of Lebanon. In each of his meetings, the Ambassador made clear his concerns about the treatment of British national and British resident depositors in Lebanon and the legitimate perception of discriminatory action against them, as well as possible breaches of relevant banking laws and regulations.

Ambassador Collard has urged the Lebanese authorities to ensure that all depositors are properly and fairly treated, and he underlined the importance of Lebanese banks not discriminating against account holders on the basis of their British nationality or residency.

The Ambassador was assured by the Chair of the Banking Commission and Governor of the Central Bank that steps are actively being considered to appropriately protect all affected depositors.

In light of the banks’ actions, the British Embassy recommends that any British national who has been impacted by the banks’ decisions seeks qualified legal advice in Lebanon. This is not a service that the Embassy can provide. Should they need it, British nationals can find a list of English-speaking legal representatives in Lebanon on the UK government website.

This unfortunate situation is symptomatic of Lebanon’s failing economy. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the United Kingdom has joined international partners in calling on the Government of Lebanon to adopt overdue and essential economic reforms. Without such reforms, Lebanon’s economy continues its free fall, with serious impacts on all banking depositors in Lebanon, as well as Lebanese citizens more generally and others residing in Lebanon. Reforms represent the only path to rebuild Lebanon’s economy.

The British Embassy will continue to make the case in our engagements that British nationals and residents should not be unfairly impacted by the banks’ decisions, and calls for a rapid resolution to this matter.

At the Qere Mai Lagi ginger farm in Fiji, the future is looking bright.

Through his association with the United Kingdom Trade Partnership (UKTP) Programme in Fiji, Ifereimi Vasu and Jason Zhong are part of an industry-wide revival in the ginger sector bringing new jobs, higher productivity and increased incomes across the entire agricultural value-chain.

Since 2019, the UKTP Programme has worked with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to increase exports to the United Kingdom and the European Union through the better use of Economic Partnership Agreements.

The programme identified untapped potential in Fiji’s ginger industry, including for value-added products such as crystalised ginger and ginger syrup. From the farmers to the factory workers to the financiers, at the heart of this programme is an approach which seeks to identify, connect, and support all actors along the value-chain. The value-chain model starts with farmers like Ifereimi and Jason, their families, and rural communities.

Through site selection, land preparation works, individual farm visits by the programme team and support from the Ministry of Agriculture, over 150 new farms were selected for financial assistance through the Fiji Development Bank over a two-year period. Rural training kits were distributed and over 100 loan applications targeting smallholder farmers were lodged leading to over $1 million dollars of loans to ginger farmers being approved by the bank last year.

Despite two cyclonic seasons, farm yields have increased and the production factory is buzzing as the reputation for quality Fiji ginger products gathers momentum.

For the ginger industry to grow and be sustainable, it had to deliver benefits across all parts of the community. This was an important design element of the programme. The ginger sector provides employment for Fijians beyond the farm gate, with ginger processing employing more than 230 people, 75 per cent of whom are women.

The Senior Agriculture Extension Officer for the UKTP Fiji programme, Ms Mereseini Naivola, said:

Inviting both men and women to participate in UKTP training activities has resulted in men and women being seen working side-by-side on ginger farms. This has become a more socially acceptable practice across the ginger industry.

Up to 570 seasonal labourers have been provided with more regular and continuous work due to the larger production volumes and the model has supported farmers living with disabilities. For farmers not able to join training sessions in person, UKTP has developed 16 instructional videos which could be viewed on smart phones through the mobile network.

The British High Commissioner to Fiji, Dr Brian Jones, said:

It was great meeting Ifereimi and Jason, hearing their passion for ginger farming and recognise the skill and competence they have built. Many people I’ve met in Fiji so far have told me about the potential of ginger farming and export, and I am so happy the UK is engaging in such a promising sector. There is more to be done supporting the farmers and Fiji get the best price for their world-class ginger, and I look forward to the results this year will bring.

As the world is opening up again from the global pandemic, the agro-value chain model is having genuine success in Fiji.

The consolidated income generated by ginger farmers in the UKTP programme has increased threefold since the programme started.

The farm-gate price for ginger is up by 60 per cent, so farmers, producers and the financiers are all celebrating.

And with new Fiji ginger products being sold in markets across the UK, Europe and Australia, the outlook for passionate ginger farmers such as Ifereimi and Jason is looking very bright indeed.

Royal Navy vessels have joined ships, aircraft and personnel from six Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nations to provide support to NATO and bolster security in the Baltic Sea.

HMS Northumberland and sister ship HMS Richmond joined Danish frigate HDMS Niels Juel and warships from Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for maritime patrols in the strategically important region.

JEF naval vessels escorted Danish and British supply ships as they delivered military vehicles and equipment to resupply the UK-led NATO Battlegroup in Estonia, where troops from the UK and Denmark are serving side by side. The UK recently doubled the number of troops in Estonia as part of wider NATO efforts to strengthen its eastern defences following Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

As well as patrolling and delivering the vital supplies, the warships and aircraft conducted a series of joint exercises to demonstrate and hone their seamless interoperability. Danish F-16s and Swedish Gripen fighter jets rehearsed air defence tactics with the vessels, while one of the UK’s new RAF Poseidon P8A submarine hunter aircraft practiced working with the ships to spot enemy vessels.

Major General Jim Morris DSO, the Commander of the UK Standing Joint Force HQ (SJFHQ) which leads the JEF, said:

“Activities such as these in the Baltic Sea are routine business for us and our JEF partners, in one of our principal areas of geographical interest.

“Given the current level of aggression being displayed by Russia, there has never been a more important time to ensure that freedom of navigation is maintained in the Baltic Sea.”

This region is of vital strategic importance as we seek to ensure stability and freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea.

The JEF is a UK-led force, comprising 10 nations working together to deliver forces at high readiness, across a range of roles, complementing NATO and European security. The coalition focuses on security in the Baltic Sea region, the High North and the North Atlantic, where its members are located.

In March, the Prime Minister hosted JEF leaders in London for the first ever leader-level summit. At the leaders’ summit, JEF members committed to supporting Ukraine with defensive military aid and ensuring that JEF continued to play a credible role in contributing to defence and deterrence in the region. The meeting followed meetings of Defence Ministers and Chiefs of Defence in February.

The coalition is complementary to NATO’s wider strategic posture which originated from the 2014 NATO summit in Wales. Led by the UK as framework nation, it is agile and responsive, acting flexibly either in smaller groupings or as ten nations communicating with one voice.

Rear Admiral Torben Mikkelson, Chief of the Royal Danish Navy, said:

“The current situation calls for increased focus on security of the Baltic Sea and stability of our region. The Danish Navy will, with our partners in the JEF alliance, do our utmost to contribute to that.”

A busy schedule of activity over the coming months and years will see the JEF operating across its core areas of the North Atlantic, High North and Baltic Sea Region, with a particular focus on the upcoming Command Post Exercise Joint Protector later in 2022, followed by the Live Exercise JEF Warrior in 2023.