Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Liechtenstein.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Liechtenstein have a strong bilateral relationship focussed on trade and working together at multilateral institutions. Our non-resident Ambassador visited last month meeting the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. We remain committed to maintaining our strong diplomatic and economic ties.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Hungary.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Hungary is an important partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally of the United Kingdom, and where there is mutual benefit we work together on shared interests, including on trade, security and defence. As in any bilateral relationship there are differences and where we have concerns, we raise them candidly, including on restrictions on essential freedoms, including respect for and freedoms for the LGBT+ community, and on our differing approaches to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Government maintains regular dialogue with its Hungarian counterparts. The Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Szijjártó in London for bilateral talks in January, and I am also in regular contact with EU Minister János Bóka and Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar, whom I met in London on 19 June.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Montenegro.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains a strong relationship with Montenegro. We work closely together bilaterally as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and look forward to hosting the Government of Montenegro this autumn at the Berlin Process summit. On 28 May we signed a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between Montenegro and the UK. This Declaration enhances future cooperation between the two countries across a wide range of areas, including security, serious and organised crime, economic development, the rule of law, migration, education, and culture. In May the UK Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Karen Pierce, visited Montenegro. The Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and I also visited Montenegro this year to further our bilateral relationship.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Belgium.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a strong and enduring relationship with its close neighbour and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, Belgium. The strength of this relationship was reaffirmed by the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot on 2 July to London where he met the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Minister for Africa. We are deepening our foreign policy collaboration to intensify pressure on Russia, reinforce our support for Ukraine, promote peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Africa, tackle irregular migration, increase law enforcement cooperation and promote economic growth.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Slovenia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Slovenia remains a key partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally for the United Kingdom, and we cooperate on many key priorities including Russia-Ukraine and the Western Balkans. We signed a Joint Statement of Intent signed in 2022 and we maintain a yearly Strategic Dialogue with Slovenia, last held on 27 March 2025, which provides an opportunity to discuss a range of bilateral and international priorities. The Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Fajon on 21 November 2024 where they discussed the full range of the bilateral relationship. Foreign Minister Fajon also met with the Minister for Africa to discuss UN Security Council cooperation, and with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to discuss the EU reset. This built on my visit to Slovenia for the Bled Strategic Forum in September 2024. I have regularly engaged with and met my counterpart Marko Stucin.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Slovakia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Slovakia is a valued partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally of the United Kingdom, and we work closely on shared priorities, highlighted by our declaration of intent on law enforcement cooperation. As with any bilateral relationship, differences exist, in particular in our respective approaches to Russia and Ukraine. Where we have concerns we address them openly, and the UK Government maintains regular contact with its Slovak counterparts. The Prime Minister recently met President Pellegrini at the NATO Summit in The Hague in June. The Foreign Secretary last engaged with Foreign Minister Blanar in December, and I have held several discussions this year with State Secretary Marek Eštok.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Andorra.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Andorra have a close bilateral relationship, and celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with an event where Andorran Prime Minister Espot spoke alongside our Ambassador to Andorra. We agreed a Youth Mobility agreement in 2024, and in February 2025 signed a Double Taxation Agreement which should come into force in 2026. We continue to explore further areas of cooperation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Czechia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Czechia is a steadfast bilateral and NATO Ally of the United Kingdom. We enjoy strong cooperation across key areas including Russia/Ukraine, Security, Defence and Growth. In 2022, we signed a Statement of Intent committing us to closer bilateral cooperation. The Delivery Plan under the Statement was updated in November 2024 ahead of the Foreign Secretary hosting FM Lipavsky. The Prime Minister hosted his Czech counterpart in London this July to sign a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation, to celebrate Czechia's selection of Rolls Royce SMR as a primary growth opportunity and to host prominent Czech investors at a business roundtable. I also attended the GLOBSEC defence and security forum in Prague in September 2024, Minister Thomas-Symonds attended this forum in June. During these visits we met various Czech interlocutors, including FM Lipavsky, DFM Marian and President Pavel.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Albania.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a close bilateral partnership with Albania as a likeminded North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally. The Prime Minister visited Albania on 15 May and agreed an updated strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation on defence and security, justice, culture and economic growth. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Permanent Under-Secretary visited Albania on 16 and 17 July to further bilateral relations, advance UK growth objectives and support continuing joint operational collaboration to tackle the shared challenge of organised immigration crime. The Foreign Secretary and I have met on a number of times with Foreign Minister Hasani in the last year to discuss shared priorities. The UK looks forward to hosting Albania at the Berlin Process Summit this autumn.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Iceland.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Iceland across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary visited Iceland on 29 May and had a bilateral with Foreign Minister Gunnarsdóttir at Keflavik Air Base. I also visited Iceland for the Arctic Circle Assembly in October 2024 and delivered a speech on the UK's commitment to the Arctic in the face of global challenges. The annual UK-Iceland Diplomatic Consultations were held at official level in London in April 2025.