PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that more than a dozen countries were ready to contribute assets to a defensive mission aimed at restoring the freedom of navigation of the Strait of Hormuz.
France and Britain chaired a meeting in Paris of 49 countries to discuss preparations for a possible multinational defensive mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
"We will take this forward with a military plan conference in London next week where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission, and over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets," Starmer told reporters alongside the leaders of France, Germany and Italy.
"Reopening the strait is a global necessity and a global responsibility," he said.
(Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Sam Tabahriti in London, editing by William James)
