UK appoints new Minister for Africa

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has appointed Tobias Ellwood as the new minister for Africa.

Ellwood said he was honoured to continue as a UK foreign office minister taking responsibility for Africa adding ‘the UK remains well placed to work with Africa to maximize its economic potential and the opportunities for prosperity it offers’.

I feel privileged to add #Africa & #Consular issues to my existing portfolio of #MiddleEast and #CounterTerrorism.

— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) July 25, 2016

“In order to boost Africa’s economies it is also crucial to improve stability and security across the continent, particularly in East Africa. We will continue to work with the African Union (AU) and through our role on the UN Security Council (UNSC) on these important issues. For example, this has included working with France and the US on a joint approach to tackling the threats from Boko Haram in Nigeria, dealing with the effects of the Ebola outbreak and helping to improve security in Somalia,” he said.

Tobias Ellwood has served as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East since 2005 and was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in 2014.

He is also in charge of the Middle East, Counter Terrorism & Consular affairs.