Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held discussions with his counterpart in Canada on potential activity by agents of the Republic of India (i) in Canadian territory and (ii) towards Canadian nationals.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minster spoke to Prime Minister Trudeau on 6 October about the serious allegations raised in the Canadian Parliament and the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his Canadian counterpart. All countries should respect sovereignty and the rule of law. It is important Canada's investigation runs its course, with the perpetrators brought to justice. We have raised this matter with the Government of India and we encourage them to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in that country’s House of Commons on 18 September 2023 on Mr Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minster spoke to Prime Minister Trudeau on 6 October about the serious allegations raised in the Canadian Parliament and the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his Canadian counterpart. We have raised this matter with the Government of India and we encourage them to cooperate fully with the investigation. It would be inappropriate to comment further during the ongoing investigation by the Canadian authorities.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have met (i) Gautam Adani and (ii) representatives of the Adani Group in the last five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No FCDO ministers have met Gautam Adani or Adani Group officials in the last five years. FCDO officials regularly meet representatives of major international businesses, including representatives of the Adani Group.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
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 progress that the National Security Council has made in developing the Government’s strategy on Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no plans to make public the detail of National Security Council activity.The Government’s strategy on Nigeria is focused on working with President Buhari’s administration during his second term on our shared goals of prosperity, security, migration and development. We are working together to help Nigeria invest in its people, create more jobs, and address security and stability issues. The former Foreign Secretary met the Nigerian Vice President during his visit in April to discuss long-term solutions to improve livelihoods and opportunity across the country. We routinely work with the Nigerian Government, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups as part of our broader engagement in Nigeria.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment the National Security Council has made of the potential merits of consulting (a) state actors and (b) civil society groups on the development of its strategy on Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no plans to make public the detail of National Security Council activity.The Government’s strategy on Nigeria is focused on working with President Buhari’s administration during his second term on our shared goals of prosperity, security, migration and development. We are working together to help Nigeria invest in its people, create more jobs, and address security and stability issues. The former Foreign Secretary met the Nigerian Vice President during his visit in April to discuss long-term solutions to improve livelihoods and opportunity across the country. We routinely work with the Nigerian Government, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups as part of our broader engagement in Nigeria.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Central and South America on the economic, social and political situation in Venezuela.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.
Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.
We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.
Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the economic situation in Venezuela on human rights in the region.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.
Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.
We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.
Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.
Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.
We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.
Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist those fleeing repression in Venezuela.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.
Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.
We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.
Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.