Starmer and Macron to co-host Strait of Hormuz talks in Paris on Friday
The US's blockade of Iranian ports has begun, deepening the global economic impact from the Middle East crisis
International leaders will gather in Paris on Friday in the hopes of developing a plan to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open to shipping after the war in the Middle East ends.
Listen to this article
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will co-host the summit.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The summit will advance work towards a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends.”
Sir Keir told MPs on Monday the UK-French initiative would involve “military planning to provide assurance to shipping” as well as diplomatic efforts.
Mr Macron has previously said the countries participating in the initiative would work on a “strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict”, which “is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit”.
He said the summit would bring together countries “prepared to contribute alongside us” to the “peaceful multinational mission”.
In Westminster, a new Cabinet committee has been established to deal with the fallout from the Iran conflict.
The Middle East Response Committee was having its first meeting on Tuesday to consider the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping route vital for global oil and gas supplies.
The Prime Minister established the committee to deal with the domestic and international impacts of the war, which has driven up energy prices, caused stock market turmoil and exposed deep divisions between the US and its traditional European allies.
No 10 insiders compared the new panel to the committees set up under Tory prime ministers to deal with Brexit preparations and the Covid-19 pandemic.
A source said the “new central structure” would focus on “medium-term scenario planning to respond to developments in the region over the coming weeks and months”.
The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply damaging. Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost of living pressures.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 13, 2026
The UK has convened more than 40 nations who share our aim to restore freedom of navigation.
This week the UK and France will co-host a…
Alongside the ministerial committee, whose full membership has not yet been disclosed, senior officials will meet under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo.
The new structure is seen as an acknowledgement that the situation will continue to affect the UK for some time. However, meetings of the emergency Cobra committee will still be held to respond to immediate crises.
The first meeting’s focus on the Strait of Hormuz comes after Donald Trump announced a blockade of Iranian ports, and as the UK and France prepare to host a summit to consider options for securing the shipping route when hostilities cease.
Oil prices retreated back below 100 US dollars a barrel in Tuesday morning trading on hopes that US-Iran negotiations may be revived and that an agreement could be reached over the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
Brent crude edged 1% lower to 98.3 dollars a barrel, having jumped higher on Monday.
Stock markets also moved higher, with the FTSE 100 Index in London up a little, ahead 0.2% at 10598.1, and the Dax in Germany and France’s Cac 40 both up by around 1% after solid overnight gains in the US and Asia.