France, April 22 -- The meeting, organised by the British Ministry of Defence, aims to move discussions from broad diplomatic agreement to practical planning.

Officials say the gathering will "advance detailed planning" for reopening the strait when conditions permit, following signs of progress at international talks held in Paris last week.

The UK's defence secretary, John Healey, struck an optimistic tone ahead of the discussions, saying the immediate goal was to turn political alignment into concrete action.

"The task today and tomorrow is to translate diplomatic consensus into a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait and support a lasting ceasefire," he said, adding that he was confident "real progress can be ...