Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for the next round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Türkiye.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Delivering good growth across the UK is the government’s top priority. Bilateral trade with Turkey was worth over £28 billion last year, roughly doubling in the past decade in current prices. Negotiations to enhance the UK’s current free trade agreement with Turkey, which came into force in 2021, aim to build on this important trading relationship.
The fifth round of negotiations took place in Ankara between 15 and 23 June 2026, during which negotiators held constructive discussions across a wide range of areas. The sixth round of negotiations is expected to take place in London in the early autumn and will seek to build on the strong record of the negotiation’s 11 closed chapters to date.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK jobs are supported, directly and indirectly, by the UK-Türkiye Typhoon export agreement; and how those jobs are distributed by region.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Typhoon programme supports more than 20,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the UK. The greatest proportion of these are in England, including over 9,000 jobs across Lancashire, where the majority of the production and final assembly of each Typhoon fighter jet takes place, over 2,000 in the South East, and more than 1,800 in the East Midlands. The programme also supports over 1,400 jobs in Scotland and more than 600 in Wales. Just under 100 jobs are supported in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings (1) ministers, and (2) officials, have had with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
No Government Ministers have met the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce in the past five years. UK officials have regular contact with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 27 February (HL5034), what specific steps are they taking to work with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce to deepen trade links with Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. We regularly engage the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce to discuss how we can deepen trade links between the UK and the north of Cyprus within the parameters of international law. The UK urges both sides to strengthen efforts to remove obstacles to intra-island trade. Ultimately, we continue to believe that a just and lasting settlement is the best means of resolving the serious challenges for all Cypriots caused by the division of the island. The Minister for Europe, North America and UK Overseas Territories discussed these matters during his recent visit to Cyprus on 7 March.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential measures to facilitate trade between the UK and Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. Several United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international court rulings limit links between the UK and the north. Nevertheless, we are committed to alleviating the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots within these constraints. We regularly engage the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce to discuss how we can deepen trade links within the relevant parameters.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to facilitate UK businesses seeking to operate in Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. Trade between the UK and the north of Cyprus, including our ability to facilitate UK businesses seeking to operate in the north of Cyprus, is limited by Security Council Resolutions and international court rulings. However, we recognise that the status quo in Cyprus causes serious difficulties for Turkish Cypriots. We regularly engage the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce to discuss how we can deepen trade links within the relevant parameters.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any information on the number of UK merchant ships that docked at (1) Gazimağusa, and (2) Berbera, seaports in each year since 2010; and why their policies towards both unrecognised countries differ in terms of their international investment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
No UK flagged vessels have docked at Famagusta (Gazimagusa) since 2018. One vessel docked five times at Berbera over the same period. We do not hold data before 2018. The situations in the north of Cyprus and Somaliland are different and require different approaches. The UK supports measures to promote economic development in both, whilst respecting UN Security Council Resolutions that limit links between the UK and the north of Cyprus.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments made in 2004 by the then Prime Minister on the need to “end the isolation of northern Cyprus”; and what progress they have made towards lifting sanctions on trade and travel to that region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Several UN Security Council Resolutions also limit links between UK and the north of Cyprus. Within these constraints we support measures to reduce the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and regularly engage the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce on this issue. We continue to support a just and lasting Cyprus Settlement as the best means of resolving the difficulties caused by the division of the island.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the British High Commissioner to Cyprus has visited the Muratağa, Sandallar and Atlilar memorial in Northern Cyprus; and, if not, what plans they have to visit.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We recognise that the events of 1974 and the preceding period continue to cast a long shadow over Cyprus. We regularly engage with Cypriot civil society organisations to appropriately remember those who lost their lives, families and loved ones during the period. The UK continues to support the Committee for Missing Persons by providing financial support, including for DNA testing.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government to ensure that policies on fentanyl are aligned across the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We have ongoing discussions with the Scottish Government on drug policy issues, including in relation to drugs such as fentanyl, to understand current threats and the opportunities for collaboration. In addition, the UK Drugs Ministerial is the forum for discussions at ministerial level between His Majesty’s Government and the devolved administrations. The next UK Drugs Ministerial is planned for the Autumn.
While fentanyl is controlled as a Class A drug across the UK through the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Scottish Government is responsible for policies addressing drug use and drug harms in areas that are devolved, including healthcare and criminal justice.