The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Mr Hoshyar Zebari, held a joint press conference in New York on 16 September 2005 following a meeting during the UN's 2005 World Summit. Topics discussed included the situation in Iraq, progress on the new constitution and what better support the United Kingdom and the international community more generally can give to Iraq. The pair then took questions from the assembled journalists on related issues, including relations with Iran and Syria.

Following two days of talks, the UK and Gibraltar delegations have issued a joint statement on the proposals from the Gibraltar Assembly to revise Gibraltar's constitution. This second round of talks, which concluded on 16 September 2005, follows earlier discussions which took place at Lancaster House in London from 30 November – 1 December 2004. There has been a wide measure of agreement on specific revisions to all the main chapters of the existing constitution. The two sides have agreed to exchange views on and drafts of some of the outstanding issues over the course of the next few weeks, with a further third round of discussions shortly thereafter.

The Minister for Europe, Douglas Alexander, has said advancing the 'goals of peace, prosperity and democracy has brought Europe to where we are today' but added: 'We must also commit ourselves to practical, outward-looking approaches to meet Europe's new challenges'. In a speech at the European University Institute, on 16 September, Mr Alexander outlined these challenges: 'Terrorism, organised crime, people and drug-trafficking respect neither national nor continental boundaries. And in today's world some of the most pernicious threats to stability are no longer even driven by nation states, but instead by non-state actors. Trade within our borders, though long a cornerstone of our shared prosperity, cannot be the end of the story. New and changed circumstances demand fresh approaches.'

The Government has nominated Ms Eleanor Sharpston QC to replace Advocate General Francis Jacobs, who will retire at the end of December from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Ms Sharpston's nomination, which follows an open competition for the post, is the UK's first female nomination to the European Court of Justice.

The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said the UN is the 'visible and credible expression of global politics' and by working together its members can 'achieve the global will of the people.' The PM was addressing the General Assembly on day one of the 2005 United Nations World Summit on 15 September. He said that on terrorism, trade and the environment the United Nations had a chance to make a difference. On poverty, Mr Blair said that action was needed - as refusal to act would 'reap a dire reward.'