Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the environmental impact caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl on the coast of Sri Lanka; and what support they have provided to the government of Sri Lanka.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK government remains concerned about the environmental impact caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl ship. While the risk of an oil spill is now considered low, plastic pellets and other debris are affecting the shoreline. We have engaged regularly with the Sri Lankan authorities and international experts on the ground to determine how the UK can best support the response.
The UK government is providing marine pollution expertise to Sri Lanka to help respond to the potentially devastating impact on the marine life and coastal habitats of Sri Lanka. The UK will also provide expertise and analytical capacity to support plastic pollution monitoring, as well as environmental and socioeconomic impact assessments. The UK's Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science will partner with Sri Lankan Government Departments, academics and responsible authorities to support effective emergency response and implementation of a post spill integrated monitoring plan.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will (1) list each nation to which they have delivered AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as part of the World Health Organisation COVAX programme, and (2) list the quantity of vaccines they have delivered to each nation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As of 15 June, COVAX had delivered 87 million doses to 131 participating countries and territories. UNICEF is supporting COVAX with the delivery of these vaccines, and details of what each country has received in terms of doses and quantities can be found at https://www.unicef.org/supply/covid-19-vaccine-market-dashboard.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver 600,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the government of Sri Lanka, to enable the availability of second doses amongst the population of that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK government is concerned about the Covid-10 situation in Sri Lanka. The Minister for South Asia Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon discussed this with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner on 10 May and with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 17 June.
The UK has consistently stressed that we are all facing the same pandemic and the threat of further waves and variants of the virus makes cooperation between all our partners and the UK ever more vital and important.
The UK remains committed to equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. As the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines, COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines fairly and to where they will be most effective. The UK was one of the earliest and largest donors to COVAX donating £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment. Our early funding gave COVAX the purchase power it needed to secure deals with manufacturers to supply internationally-approved vaccines for up to 92 low and middle income countries. So far, COVAX has helped deliver over 81m doses to 129 countries and territories, including Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister announced on 11 June that the UK will donate 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines within the next year, with 30 million of those donated by the end of 2021. 80% of the vaccines donated will go to COVAX. This was part of an agreement with G7 partners to donate 1 billion doses by June 2022. We will set out more detail in due course and will continue to discuss with G7 partners the ambition to end the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made, or intend to make, to the government of Armenia (1) to maintain peace in the South Caucasus region, and (2) to ensure non-violent resolution of any future conflict.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government welcomes the 10 November peace deal including the implementation of many of the OSCE Minsk Group Basic Principles. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas urged the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work together with the OSCE Minsk Group to settle all outstanding matters related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and implement the remaining Basic Principles to ensure future regional stability and peace. The UK Government firmly supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure regional stability in the South Caucasus in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political situation in the South Caucasus.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government welcomes the 10 November peace deal including the implementation of many of the OSCE Minsk Group Basic Principles. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas urged the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work together with the OSCE Minsk Group to settle all outstanding matters related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and implement the remaining Basic Principles to ensure future regional stability and peace. The UK Government firmly supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure regional stability in the South Caucasus in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.