Declared “a masterpiece as a politician” daily telegraph. Judging that “the results are extremely poor” le figaro. It is relatively rare for diplomats to get this much coverage of our work. It is even rarer that such admirers stand the test of time.
But today, 120 years after these newspaper reports were filed, we understand what an important achievement it was to establish an Entente between our two countries.
The document itself was very contemporary and detailed the compromises reached regarding the colonial conflict. But in making such compromises, our government has made a “commitment to the essential alignment of our interests and aspirations,” according to one paper. There is no doubt that this was the basis for the close friendship between the two neighboring countries.
For more than 120 years, our nation has been reworking this pledge.
We did it in our darkest hours. His 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale coincides with his 80th anniversary of D-Day and the landings in Provence, and the subsequent liberation of France.
We did this in pursuit of transformative change. 2024 also marks his 30th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel, an incredible feat of engineering that allows for constant traffic between the two countries.
We did so in 2010 and proudly signed the Lancaster House Treaty. And our leaders did the same last year, holding the 36th UK-France summit in the same year that President Macron welcomed a memorable state visit from His Majesty King Charles.
And we signed the Le Touquet Treaty in 2003 and then the Sandhurst Treaty in 2018, creating an unprecedented framework for cooperating on security and irregular migration.
This enduring commitment to our friendship reflects our recognition that it remains the foundation of our security and prosperity. Over the past 120 years, we have not only developed a close friendship; We have contributed to building a better world.
The dark days continue once again. Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine has entered its third year and is having a serious impact on European and Euro-Atlantic security. Conflict and instability exist in the Middle East, and their effects are deeply felt in our society. Then there is the huge global challenge of climate change.
The story of our two countries' friendship should make us optimistic about the future. With so many damaging and protracted conflicts in the world, together we must seize the opportunities that partnership presents.
Last week, we met in Brussels as NATO celebrated its 75th anniversary. As founding members and Europe's nuclear powers, the UK and France have a responsibility to drive the alliance forward and meet the challenges at hand. Our armed forces are deployed together in Estonia, demonstrating our commitment to our allies and our contribution to the alliance, which remains the cornerstone of European security.
Both France and the UK will reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine at the European Political Community Summit to be held at Blenheim Palace in July. We will also ensure a productive NATO summit in Washington this summer.
We are both clear that Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose. The cost of failing to help Ukraine now will be far greater than the cost of ousting Putin.
The UK and France are proud of the support they have provided to Ukraine, from unprecedented sanctions to the joint delivery of the first long-range missile systems Scalp and Stormshadow. Just last month, the first Ukrainian pilots graduated from training with the Royal Air Force and began training with the Aerospace Forces as part of a program to strengthen Ukraine's ability to fly the latest F-16 fighter jets. .
But as discussed at February's Paris conference, more must be done to ensure Russia is defeated. The world is watching and will judge us if we fail.
We must continue to work together on other global challenges.
We are partners in the fight against terrorism and extremism. While we condemn President Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine, we have expressed our solidarity with the Russian people following the horrific violence carried out by Islamic State at Crocus City Hall.
And we must remain unwavering in our critical efforts to tackle climate change and develop carbon-free energy systems.
We have jointly launched a new Global Biodiversity Credit Roadmap to help leverage the private sector to support nature, and we remain committed to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. To go. And we are both committed to reforming the international financial system so that it can better support vulnerable countries to become more resilient to the shocks of climate change.
France and the UK are not the only countries that can solve these challenges. But together, we can rally others to join us in overcoming this problem. It is for us that our predecessors put aside our differences and establish the lasting friendship that we now celebrate, not only as a sign of the Entente, but also as a new reflection of the Entente. It is equally vitally important today.
Lord Cameron is the Foreign Secretary.Stéphane Séjournet is France's Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs