David Cameron to visit Falkland Islands next week
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David Cameron will visit the Falkland Islands next week in a gesture designed to show that British sovereignty “will not be up for discussion”.
The Foreign Secretary will visit the islands, which are subject to a territorial claim by Argentina, during the first leg of a country-hopping trip across South and North America.
Last year James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, announced that he would be visiting the Falklands in response to Argentina “flexing” its muscles over the archipelago.
By honouring the commitment, Lord Cameron will be the first cabinet minister to visit since 2016.
Despite persistent calls from Argentina for the “Islas Malvinas” to be handed over, a 2013 referendum saw 99.8 per cent of voters there opt to remain a UK Overseas Territory.
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.”
The visit will take Lord Cameron to Stanley and other sites around the territory.
During the visit he is expected to pay his respects to the British troops who fought in the Falklands War and those who lost their lives during the conflict in 1982, as well as the UK military personnel currently protecting the islands.
Last month, Lord Cameron met with the new Argentinian president Javier Milei in Davos, Switzerland, where the two men said they “would agree to disagree, and do so politely” over the future of the islands.
Mr Milei has insisted that his country has “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands and has pledged to force the British Government to release its claim through “diplomatic channels”.
The visit comes at a time of heightened concern over the Falklands’ security, with The Telegraph revealing earlier this month that the Royal Navy has abandoned major warship patrols because of ship shortages.
After his visit to the South Atlantic, Lord Cameron will travel on to Paraguay; he will be the first UK foreign secretary to visit the country.
After that, he is due to go on to the meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Brazil, and then to the UN in New York for the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
