The Ministry of Defence announces new government approach to International Defence Engagement

Friday, Feb 08, 2013

The Government has today published a new strategy outlining how International Defence Engagement will be better focused towards contributing to wider government objectives.

The International Defence Engagement Strategy sets out how all Defence activity short of combat operations will focus efforts on those countries which are most important to our national interests.

The strategy includes four pillars of defence: defence diplomacy, support to operations, exports and building stability. It ensures Britain is developing relationships and influence over a longer-term 20-year horizon so that we achieve our objectives in a period of significant uncertainty and change.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also exploring ways of using Army capabilities on a wide range of Defence Engagement tasks and will pilot this as the Army restructures its Adaptable Force Brigades as part of Army 2020.

The strategy has been developed by the MOD and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in consultation with other Government Departments. £6 million of funding has been made available for this work through reprioritising existing budgets.

Source: The Ministry of Defence