Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in the government of Afghanistan on the operation of ISIL in the south of that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of recent media reports claiming that elements of the insurgency in Afghanistan have pledged allegiance to ISIL. Alongside our international partners, we continue to monitor the situation as part of our close cooperation on security matters with the Afghan Government.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 Icelandic counterpart on strengthening business relations between that country and the UK.
Answered by David Lidington
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, has not yet held discussions with his Icelandic counterpart on strengthening business relations. These issues were last discussed in detail by hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mark Prisk), Investment Envoy for the Nordic Baltic region, and Högni S. Kristjánsson, the Icelandic Director General of Trade and Economic Affairs, at the annual UK Iceland bilateral discussion on 27 November 2014. The British Embassy and UK Trade and Investment in Reykjavik have constant discussions with Icelandic companies on the possibilities of investing in the UK and assist UK companies to export to Iceland.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 Mexican counterpart on strengthening UK-Mexico business relations.
Answered by Lord Swire
I visited Mexico from 2 to 5 November and held High Level Political Talks with Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Meade and Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos de Icaza. We discussed a broad range of topics which included our respective efforts to tackle Ebola, countering extremism across the globe, human rights, as well as strengthening UK-Mexico business relations. The UK and Mexico are committed to doubling bilateral trade from 2010 levels by the end of this year.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet next.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Core Group of the Friends of Syria are due to meet in London on 22 January at senior official level, following the meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to meet the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs.
Answered by Lord Swire
I hope to engage with the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs, and other representatives of the newly appointed Sri Lankan government, at the earliest opportunity. The UK looks forward to working with the new government and reinvigorating the long standing partnership between the UK and Sri Lanka.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the US administration on strengthening diplomatic ties between the US and UK.
Answered by Lord Swire
We place great importance on the strength of the diplomatic relationship we hold with the US. We have regular discussions with the US administration on a range of key foreign policy issues, including most recently during the visit of the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) to the US on 15 and 16 January. In a joint press conference with President Obama, the Prime Minister stated that “For almost two centuries, ..., America and Britain have stood as kindred spirits in defending our freedoms and advancing our shared prosperity”. The President acknowledged the UK as “one of my closest and most trusted partners in the world”.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Thai government on human trafficking.
Answered by Lord Swire
As part of our inaugural strategic dialogue in 2013, which I co-chaired, the UK and Thailand committed to work together to combat transnational crimes, including illegal trafficking. Since the coup of May 2014, high-level bilateral exchanges with the military-dominated Thai government have been postponed or cancelled. However, we continue to look for opportunities to raise this issue where and when we can. We also work with the Thai authorities on the disruption of human trafficking and illegal migration, and have issued statements in support of activists working on the issue of migrants’ rights.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Burmese government on the persecution of the Rohingya people in that country.
Answered by Lord Swire
I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 4 December 2014 (PQ 216502). I also discussed the situation of the Rohingya at length in a Westminster Hall debate on 14 January (Citation: HC Deb, 14 January 2015, c327WH).
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Mexican counterpart on (a) the kidnapping of students in Iguala in September 2014 and (b) human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have been closely monitoring the tragic events in Guerrero and both Ministers and officials have raised the case with their Mexican counterparts. I personally raised the case of the missing students in Iguala with the Mexican Foreign Minister during the UK-Mexico High Level Political Talks that took place in Mexico in November 2014.
We stand ready to support the Mexican government in their efforts to tackle violence and impunity and will continue to engage in constructive bilateral dialogue on human rights issues.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese government about human rights in that country.
Answered by Lord Swire
We are concerned by the human rights situation in China, in particular the restrictions on civil and political rights. We raise human rights regularly with Chinese counterparts. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so most recently during the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in September 2014, and I did so with Vice Minister Wang Chao in Beijing earlier this month.
We highlight our concerns publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk), and through multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council. Officials also raise our concerns in detail with Chinese counterparts during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, last held in London in May 2014.