Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Egyptian authorities' efforts to tackle terrorist activity in the Sinai region.

We assess there to be a high threat of terrorism in Egypt. To date this has largely been focused against the Egyptian security services. The threat is highest in the Governorate of North Sinai to which we advise against all travel due to the significant level of criminal activity and fatal terrorist attacks on security services. During the recent visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri to the UK, Ministers discussed the security situation with him and reiterated the UK’s commitment to working with Egypt on countering terrorism, including to tackle ISIL and the threat it poses in the region.