January 3, 2024
Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett sounded alarm over the increased frequency of the attacks in the Red Sea, which endanger international navigation and the lives of crew members.
Calling for their immediate end and for the preservation of navigational rights and freedoms of all vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, she also demanded the immediate release of the Galaxy Leader and its crew.
Voicing concern about the potential impact of these attacks on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, she urged the perpetrators to avoid any further action that could spark an escalation in tensions and compound the already volatile situation in the Middle East.
“A wider regional conflagration in the present circumstances must be avoided at all costs,” she asserted, noting that the Red Sea — with its connection to the Suez Canal — is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.