18 February 2024 , 00:01
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David Cameron is set to visit the Falkland Islands to show they are a “valued part of the British family”.
It comes after Argentinian President Javier Milei called for the South Atlantic Islands to be handed over to Buenos Aires. The Tory Foreign Secretary has insisted the issue of the Islands’ sovereignty is “not…up for discussion” while residents wish to be British.
Lord Cameron said: “The Falkland Islands are a valued part of the British family, and we are clear that as long as they want to remain part of the family, the issue of sovereignty will not be up for discussion. The Falkland Islanders should be proud of the modern, prosperous community they have built. The Islands are a thriving economy, where as well as farming and fishing, there is a priority given to conservation and sustainability."
After their meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Foreign Office said he and President Milei had a "warm and cordial meeting" and on the issue of the Falklands "they would agree to disagree, and do so politely".
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falklands and Mr Milei has previously suggested the UK should approach the issue in a similar way to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina, around 8,000 miles from Britain and 300 miles from mainland Argentina, were the subject of a bloody conflict in 1982.
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The war claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentinian personnel. In a 2013 referendum, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to retain their status as a UK overseas territory.
On his visit, Lord Cameron will pay his respects to the British forces who served and those who lost their lives during the conflict in 1982 and thank the UK personnel based on the islands today. He will also meet leaders of the Falkland Islands government during a visit to the capital Stanley and other sites around the overseas territory.
Lord Cameron will also visit environmental projects and see some of the penguins that depend on the vital island habitats. He is expected to travel to the Falklands before visiting Paraguay, the first time a British foreign secretary has travelled to the South American nation.
The Foreign Secretary is then due to attend a meeting of G20 counterparts - including Russia's Sergei Lavrov - in Brazil on Wednesday. Russia's actions in Ukraine will also be the subject of a United Nations session in New York later in the week which Lord Cameron will attend.