Speaking in New York on 15 May 2026, Helen King, the UK's Ambassador to ECOSOC, used a UN Economic and Social Council session on safeguarding energy and supply flows to frame the Strait of Hormuz crisis as a development issue as well as a maritime one. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office transcript said the effects were global but were being felt most acutely in the Global South. (gov.uk)
The UK linked the disruption to several pressures at once: higher oil, gas and fertiliser costs, rising interest rates, disrupted remittances and increased displacement. In the government's assessment, that combination threatens food security, energy security and wider economic stability, with a risk of reversing development progress in lower-income states. (gov.uk)
London set out diplomacy as the first line of action. The government said it is working with partners to get the Strait fully reopened, restore freedom of navigation and restart commercial shipping so that fuel, fertilisers and other goods can move towards the countries where shortages and price spikes would be most damaging. (gov.uk)
The second line is emergency finance. According to the statement, the UK is engaging the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks to unlock support for the hardest-hit countries, while backing the use of pre-arranged finance to stabilise economies more quickly when external costs rise sharply. (gov.uk)
On food and fertilisers, the UK said it is mapping supply-chain risks and identifying where resilience can be strengthened so countries can prepare for shortages, reduce concentrated dependencies and keep markets stable. The same passage also signalled opposition to export restrictions and support for longer-term investment in sustainable farming, cleaner energy and improved fertiliser systems. (gov.uk)
The UK also used the session to argue for a stronger multilateral response. It said the United Nations should align its agencies, international financial institutions and development banks behind a shared approach, while welcoming work already under way through the World Trade Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Trade and Development. (gov.uk)
A separate strategic point concerned energy security. Helen King said the crisis underlines the risks of overdependence on imported fossil fuels and strengthens the case for diversification into clean and renewable power. GOV.UK says the UK-led Global Clean Power Alliance was launched in November 2024 to scale clean energy investment in emerging markets and developing economies, with a later supply chains mission aimed at easing bottlenecks in deployment. (gov.uk)
The statement closed by pointing to the next diplomatic forums where the UK intends to press the issue, including its Global Partnerships Conference and the forthcoming African and Asian Development Bank meetings. The government has said the Global Partnerships Conference 2026 will be held in London on 19 and 20 May, placing the ECOSOC intervention immediately ahead of a wider round of development finance talks. (gov.uk)