BBC World, May 29, 2016 – Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is to press for more concerted action on the war-torn countries of Syria and Yemen during a tour of the Gulf States.
Mr Hammond is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia before going to Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
He said Britain’s “strong relations” with Gulf states will enable them to “work together on regional challenges”.
The Syrian civil war began in 2011 and the conflict in Yemen began in September 2014.
The foreign secretary will also meet the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in Kuwait to underline UK support for the peace process in the country.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Hammond said: “Wherever we look, the world is becoming more dangerous and more uncertain.
“International engagement is fundamental to maintaining both Britain’s security and our prosperity.
“Britain’s strong relations with the Gulf states enable us to work together on regional challenges and shared threats that confront us, whether from violent extremism, terrorism, or volatile economic conditions.”
He said the Yemen crisis will be high on his agenda, saying that allowing the state to collapse “is simply not an option”.
Conflicts
In Syria, what began as a peaceful uprising against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad five years ago became a full-scale civil war.
In the chaos, so-called Islamic State militants moved in over the border from Iraq and claimed territory.
More than 250,000 have people died in the conflict and 11 million made homeless.
The US, Russia, France and other world powers have entered the fray and the UKbegan air strikes targeting IS in Syria in December after MPs voted for action.