My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Councils in Brussels on 15 June 2009 where he and his EU counterparts discussed Operation Atalanta and piracy off the coast of Somalia as part of the agenda.
The Foreign Secretary also attended a meeting of the G8 Foreign Ministers in Trieste on 26 June 2009. They discussed piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the eastern coast of Somalia along with other pressing issues.
The UK continues to take a leading role in activities to counter piracy. As part of the international contact group on piracy off the coast of Somalia we chair a working group on regional capability and international co-ordination. This will next meet in London at the International Maritime Organisation Headquarters on 10 July 2009.