Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many Ministerial visits have taken place to Southern African Development Community nations in each of the last ten years.

The UK recognises the important role the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has in relation to regional issues. I [Minister Mitchell] regularly discuss a range of issues, including peace and security and UK-SADC collaboration, with regional partners. In the past 12 months I have travelled to Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, DRC with plans to visit a further two SADC countries in the next 3 months and have also met with the region at World Bank Spring Meetings, AfDB annual meetings and the UN General Assembly.

The information requested on the previous 10 years is not held centrally by the Department and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.