Commonwealth Day

Debate between Ian Liddell-Grainger and Eleanor Laing

Monday 11th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call Ian Liddell-Grainger.

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con)]

Would the Minister not agree that the two secretaries-general—

--- Later in debate ---

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call Ian Liddell-Grainger.

[Mr Liddell-Grainger]

I hope that it is worth the wait, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I know the Minister will be delighted to congratulate both Jon Davies and Akbar Khan, the two secretaries-general, and the remarkable teams they lead, as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for all the money it has given to the special projects around the world. She rightly mentioned the Commonwealth Blue Charter, which is a phenomenal achievement by the Commonwealth, but will she congratulate all the Pacific islands, especially Fiji, which has gone through difficult times, on the amount of time and work they have put in to come together in very difficult circumstances, with the help of money that we provided to bring them to various organisations in Australia and the United Kingdom, to take part in what is for them a vital and massively important piece of engineering?