UK, France to convene meeting on restoring shipping in Strait of Hormuz

The United Kingdom and France will host a multinational defense ministers' meeting on Tuesday to discuss plans for restoring shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement by the UK Ministry of Defense on Monday.

According to the statement, UK Defense Secretary John Healey will co-chair the online meeting with his French counterpart Minister Catherine Vautrin, with representatives from more than 40 countries participating.

This marks the first ministerial-level meeting for this multinational operation.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, participating countries are expected to discuss issues such as providing mine-clearing, escort, and air patrol capabilities.

This will be the third meeting of the so-called multinational escort operation in the Strait of Hormuz led by France and the UK.

On April 17, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in Paris that the two countries would lead a defensive multinational operation to ensure the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit.

On April 22, the two countries hosted a two-day multinational military planning conference in London to advance the development of plans related to the restoration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

On May 6, Macron said that he had proposed to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian that Iran consider agreeing to the multinational escort operation in the Strait of Hormuz led by France and the UK.

Macron described the escort mission as neutral in nature and independent of the warring parties, saying that Europe would play its due role in regional hotspot issues such as the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran in late February, Washington has repeatedly pressured European countries to join a Hormuz escort coalition to control the Strait of Hormuz, but many European nations have refused.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 41 pips to 6.8426 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.