Joint Statement from Finance Ministers on the Middle East: 15 April 2026 15.4.2026 | Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Joint statement from the Finance Ministers of the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Poland and New Zealand on the Middle East. We welcome the recent announcement of a ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran, and call on all parties to implement the ceasefire in full. The past weeks have brought unacceptable loss of life and significant disruption to the global economy and financial markets, and the ceasefire will be crucial to protecting civilian populations and the security of the region. We call for a swift and lasting negotiated resolution to the conflict, and a return to free and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, that mitigates impacts on growth, energy prices and living standards, in particular for the poorest and most vulnerable. Renewed hostilities, a widening of the conflict or continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz would pose serious additional risks to global energy security, supply chains, and economic and financial stability. Even with a durable resolution of the conflict, impacts on growth, inflation and markets will persist. We are committed to managing the economic response to and recovery from this crisis in a coordinated, responsible and responsive way. With government balance sheets constrained, we commit to ensuring that any domestic responses must be fiscally responsible and targeted at those who most need support. We reaffirm our commitment to open and rules-based trade in energy products. We commit to avoiding, and call on all countries to avoid, protectionist actions, including unjustified export controls, stockpiling and other trade barriers in hydrocarbon and other supply chains affected by the crisis. We commit to promoting cooperation and integration to support regional and global stability. We will also continue reforms that strengthen resilience and accelerate long-term energy diversification, including through the clean energy transition and improved energy efficiency. We welcome any steps countries may take to achieve these objectives. We reaffirm the critical role of international organisations. We welcome the IMF-World Bank-IEA coordination group and encourage the institutions to develop a shared assessment of global economic impacts, including fiscal pressures, supply chain disruptions, energy markets and food prices, and impacts on different countries. Vulnerable countries are particularly impacted, especially small and remote island states that rely on imported energy to meet basic needs. We call on the IMF and World Bank to provide a coordinated emergency support offer for countries in need, tailored to country circumstances and drawing on the full range and flexibility of their toolkits. We further welcome advice on domestic responses that are temporary, targeted, and effective, and encourage work to identify steps needed to protect long-term growth. We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine and our determination to maintain economic pressure on Russia. Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, continues to negatively impact the global economy. Russia must not benefit from this conflict, and as market conditions allow to avoid exacerbating disruptions to supply chains and energy prices, we will continue collaborating on ways to increase pressure. We remain committed to upholding the rules based international system. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-from-finance-ministers-on-the-middle-east-15-april-2026