Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the UK to re-connect with the economies of Commonwealth countries.

The UK has maintained, and continues to build, close economic links with all Commonwealth partners. The Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting which I co-chaired last month produced a number of action points to encourage trade between all member countries, these points include support SMEs, infrastructure development and access to finance, amongst other measures. We are developing this work in advance of the Commonwealth Summit in 2018 where trade will be an important part of the agenda.