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Miliband speaks at Chatham House

19 July 2007

In his first speech as the new Foreign Secretary, David Miliband outlined his views for the future direction of UK foreign policy. He emphasized three priorities - countering extremism, tackling climate change and building a more effective EU.

Mr Miliband spoke of a clear shift in the parameters of diplomacy which reflects the change in the distribution of global power in a world with increasingly disparate and ill-defined power bases. In relation to the current crisis with Russia he told the Chatham House audience that he wants strong and productive relations but he stated his disappointment at the lack of cooperation over the issue of extradition.

Speaking about the Middle East Peace Process, a pivotal part of his new brief, he expressed his support for President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayed in Palestine. He also warned that the current Hamas government agenda could take the peace process back more than ten years.

As well as addressing other key issues such as economic development and engagement with China, the Foreign Secretary also talked about his overall vision for the Foreign Office. Citing JFK he argued that the foreign policy of the new Brown government should be based on 'idealism without illusions.'

EDITORS NOTES

The event was co-hosted by Chatham House and Avaaz.org and moderated by Dr Robin Niblett and Ricken Patel from the two respective organizations.

Chatham House Director, Dr Robin Niblett, noted that "David Miliband takes over as Foreign Secretary at a time where Britain finds itself playing a dual role in international relations. It is a front-line player on key bilateral problems, such as Russia's more assertive foreign policy and Iran's nuclear ambitions. It is also helping define coordinated responses to the critical global problems of climate change and new approaches to development assistance. We wish him every success in his new position".

Current Chatham House research projects address many of the issues discussed in the Foreign Secretary's speech, including studies comparing EU and Chinese approaches to energy and climate security; the Russia-China relationship; support for Palestine refugees; Iran's internal and external politics; and a new Commission on the future role of Britain in Europe.

Read the transcript of his speech at Chatham House - New Diplomacy: Challenges for Foreign Policy.