London, Apr 7 (PTI) The UK is organising a virtual Strait of Hormuz military planning conference on Tuesday to follow up on talks held last week to address navigation concerns through the important global shipping route.
The UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood in north-west London was named as the host of the multinational meet, expected to involve over 40 nations, including many of those who participated in online discussions led by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on April 2.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had highlighted the importance of the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded transit through international waterways as India's representative at last week's meeting.
According to official sources in the UK, Tuesday’s meeting is set to explore appropriate measures for an international coalition, turn diplomatic consensus into practical planning and assess how to make the strait accessible and safe once hostilities have ceased.
The conference brings together military planners, allies and partners, with a senior British military representative opening the multilateral discussions.
“Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not prevail," reads a chair’s statement issued by Yvette Cooper following last week's meeting.
“To that effect, partners today called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the strait and respect for the fundamental principles of freedom of navigation and the law of the sea," she said.
The UK stressed that the meeting showed the determination of the international community to secure freedom of navigation as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a “direct threat to global prosperity”.
Cooper said: “The strait is one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors. It is used to transport vital supplies and products such as fertilisers urgently needed to support farming in Africa. It is a primary route for global energy exports, delivering oil, refined petroleum and liquified natural gas to countries across the globe.
“These supplies help to power homes, facilitate air travel, and support international trade and food chains. Disruption to shipping through the strait therefore has immediate and far-reaching consequences for global supplies, prices and economic stability, with severe humanitarian effects for communities the world over.”
The follow-up meeting on Tuesday comes as US President Donald Trump’s latest deadline imposed on Iran over opening the Strait looms large.
In his latest post on TruthSocial, Trump warned that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will".
India has maintained that the way out of the ongoing crisis since the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and retaliation by Tehran consisted of “de-escalation and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue among all concerned parties”.