Asked by: Bob Ainsworth (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Kashmir; and what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Indian, (b) Pakistani and (c) US counterparts on this matter.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has spoken to each of his Indian, Pakistani and US counterparts in recent months about South Asia regional issues and relations between India and Pakistan. We recognise the importance of finding a lasting solution to the situation in Kashmir, but remain of the view it is not for third parties to prescribe one. We continue to follow developments in the region closely, and officials from our High Commissions in both New Delhi and Islamabad regularly discuss the situation in Kashmir with both governments and travel to the region, security situation permitting.
Asked by: Bob Ainsworth (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
The Conflict Pool is part of an HMT settlement which is distinct from departmental budgets. It is tri-departmentally managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence, and the Department for International Development. In financial year 2013/14, the South Asia allocation was £20m. In the two preceding years, it was £15.5m per annum. The allocation for this financial year will be laid before Parliament shortly in a Written Ministerial Statement.
Asked by: Bob Ainsworth (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with their (i) Indian and (ii) Pakistani counterparts on the increase of trade and transit between the two countries.
Answered by Lord Swire
Ministers engage regularly with their counterparts in both India and Pakistan to discuss these and many other issues. We welcome the recent meeting between the countries two Prime Ministers in Delhi and subsequent exchange of letters.