UK: The official yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland > 2003

Government and foreign affairs
7 International relations
Iraq’s breach of UN resolutions and its attempts to
rebuild illegal weaponry.
In order to protect the Shia minority in southern
Iraq and the Kurdish population in the north
against attacks by Iraqi forces, UK and US
warplanes continue to patrol ‘no-fly’ zones over
southern and northern Iraq, established after the
war in 1991.
Mediterranean
The UK and other EU Member States are
developing, on the basis of the Barcelona
Declaration of 1995, closer links with 12
Mediterranean partners (Morocco, Algeria,
Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the
Palestinian Authority, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta)
with the aim of promoting peace and prosperity
in the region. Libya has also been invited to sign
up to the Declaration. Euro-Mediterranean
Association Agreements covering political
dialogue, free trade and co-operation in a number
of areas are in force with Tunisia, Morocco and
Israel, as well as an Interim Agreement with the
Palestine Liberation Organisation. An Association
Agreement with Jordan is in the process of
ratification and another with Egypt awaits
signature. Turkey, Cyprus and Malta have long¬
standing Association Agreements with the EU.
Asia-Pacific region
The UK has well-established relations with Japan,
China, the Republic of Korea, many South East
Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand, and has
defence links with some countries in the region. It
is a member, with Malaysia, Singapore, Australia
and New Zealand, of the Five Power Defence
Arrangements, which celebrated their 30th
anniversary in November 2001. British
commercial activity has developed through
increased trade and investment, and through the
setting up of business councils, joint commissions
or industrial co-operation agreements. The UK is
also taking advantage of increased opportunities
for English language teaching, co-operation in
science and technology, and educational exchanges.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process was
inaugurated in 1996. ASEM is intended to foster
closer economic and political ties between EU
countries and Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, the
Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the
Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The fourth
ASEM took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in
September 2002.
The UK and its EU and G8 partners continue to
encourage India and Pakistan to join international
nuclear non-proliferation regimes (see page 74).
This became of increasing concern during 2002 as
bilateral tensions over terrorism and the disputed
territory of Kashmir have brought the two
regional powers to the brink of war, with potent
international implications. The UK Government
has played a significant role in the co-ordinated
diplomatic efforts of the international community
to defuse the crisis.
In 1998 the UK rejoined the South Pacific
Commission, having withdrawn in 1995. The
Commission provides technical advice and
assistance to its Pacific Island members, with
which the UK has long-standing and
Commonwealth ties. See page 367 for trading
relations between the EU and the 76 African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
Hong Kong
In 1997 the UK returned Hong Kong to Chinese
sovereignty under the provisions of the 1984 Sino-
British Joint Declaration, which guarantees that
Hong Kong’s way of life, including its rights and
freedoms, will remain unchanged for 50 years
from the handover. The UK continues to have
responsibilities towards Hong Kong and the
3.5 million British passport holders living there.
The territory is the UK’s second largest export
market in Asia.
The Americas
The UK Government considers that the close
transatlantic links between the UK, the United
States and Canada remain essential to guarantee
the security and prosperity of Europe and North
America.
The UK and the US co-operate closely on nuclear,
defence and intelligence matters. As founding
members of NATO, the UK and US are deeply
involved in Western defence arrangements and, as
permanent members of the UN Security Council,
work closely together on major international
issues. In addition, there are important economic
links. The UK and US are each other’s biggest
source of inward investment, and the US is the
UK’s largest single trading partner. More than
5,000 US companies are based in the UK, and
almost 10,000 across the EU as a whole. Over
3 million jobs on each side of the Atlantic depend
on this investment. EU-US summit meetings are
held twice a year.
65