Issued by: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Foreign Secretary sets out how she is strengthening FCDO action to tackle illegal migration on her first visit to Africa in the role.

• Foreign Secretary says UK must increase international partnerships with source and transit countries to tackle the drivers of migration and accelerate returns

• follows changing patterns in small boat arrivals, with an increasing proportion of total arrivals across the Channel and across the Mediterranean coming from the Horn of Africa

• new co-operation includes job creation partnerships backed by UK investment to tackle the economic drivers of illegal migration as well as stronger partnerships to tackle criminal smuggler gangs in the Horn of Africa, and speeding up returns

• modern partnerships are at the heart of the UK’s new Africa Approach, unlocking growth, investment, and opportunities on both sides

The UK is deepening its partnerships across Africa to tackle the factors that drive people into the hands of smuggling gangs – following the Horn of Africa becoming a key source region for illegal migration towards the UK, with around 30% of small boat arrivals over the past 2 years being nationals from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan.

On her first visit to the continent as Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper will set out how she is strengthening FCDO action to tackle illegal migration – increasing prevention, law enforcement and returns along key routes.

She will meet telecoms firm Safaricom, backed by a British consortium including including and British International Investment (BII). They are one of the UK-supported companies who are increasing opportunities for Ethiopians to find work at home, support themselves and contribute to their economy, rather than making the long and dangerous journey to seek a new life overseas.

On her visit, the Foreign Secretary will put job creation at the heart of this effort – cutting off push factors driving people to migrate. She will sign a Joint Development Agreement to take forward 2 energy transmission projects totalling over $400 million developed by Gridworks – a British International Investment company that delivers UK investment across Africa.

This will cement the UK’s position as one of Ethiopia’s most trusted economic partnerships, positioning the UK as a key partner on COP32 which will take place in Ethiopia in 2027, the same year that the UK chairs the G20. She will also sign a MoU with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance on the Ethiopia Investment Advisory Facility II (EIAF2), the UK’s flagship economic partnership with Ethiopia.

The Foreign Secretary will also set out the work that the UK is doing to strengthen cooperation with the Ethiopian authorities to tackle the brokers and criminal gangs organising illegal migration from the Horn of Africa into Europe and the UK, and to speed up the return of Ethiopian nationals with no right to stay in the UK.

This partnership includes Border Security Command funding and support for Ethiopian law-enforcement agencies to help them carry out more effective investigations and improve information-sharing on criminal networks and their activities.

As part of the visit the Foreign Secretary will also be discussing greater cooperation with the African Union along with African foreign ministers on conflict prevention and resolution across the region to prevent people being forced to leave their homes by war and persecution.

The Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said:

"We are forging new partnerships with countries across Africa and delivering long term solutions. We are working together to tackle the economic drivers of illegal migration and the criminal gangs who operate globally, profiting from trading in people.

"That includes new partnerships to improve trade and create thousands of good jobs in Ethiopia so people can find a better life back home instead of making perilous journeys

"And it means new law enforcement cooperation between the Ethiopian authorities and the UK National Crime Agency to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks who exploit vulnerable people and put their lives at risk. This follows a rising trend of organised people smuggling from the Horn of Africa towards the UK.

"Criminal smuggler gangs operate across borders around the world – so we are working together with countries right along the transit routes. This cooperation in Africa follows new partnerships with countries like Iraq, the Balkan states and Europe.

"The Foreign office is making international partnerships to tackle illegal migration a major priority because the partnerships we build abroad are crucial to making us stronger back at home."

In meetings with the Ethiopian Government, the Foreign Secretary discussed the important role which Ethiopia can play in resolving regional security challenges peacefully and diplomatically.

With conflict in the Horn of Africa displacing millions of people, and acting as a further driver of illegal migration, the Foreign Secretary has emphasised throughout her visit that achieving regional stability and sustainable growth in the region is crucial to reduce migratory pressures from Africa into Europe.

The Government’s recently published Africa Approach [https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10444] sets out a vision for modern partnerships between the UK and a continent of growth, ambition, and opportunity. From trade and investment to security and stability, these partnerships are intended to build shared prosperity, back African leadership and create the conditions for business and growth on both sides.

Additional information

In Ethiopia, the Foreign Secretary will also announce:

• £5 million of humanitarian funding to tackle violence against women and girls, particularly in conflict-affected areas. This will reach approximately 110,000 people

• £4 million funding for UNICEF for life saving assistance to 68,000 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition

• £8 million funding towards ICRC’s annual appeal, ensuring access to clean water for 62,500 displaced people, increasing food production for 40,000 people, and supporting 4 medical centres, 5 hospitals, and 1 centre for violence against women and girls (VAWG) services

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