Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) governments, (2) international organisations, and (3) businesses, have been invited to attend the UK–Africa Investment Summit being hosted by the UK in January 2020.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Summit will bring together African leaders and delegations from 21 countries who have been invited: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda.
6 multilateral organisations and international financial institutions have also been invited: African Development Bank, African Union, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank.
We have invited hundreds of UK and African business representatives and representatives from Civil Society Organisations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which embassies represent the UK in more than one state.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The following Missions represent the United Kingdom in more than one State, as duly indicated:
British Embassy in Angola (São Tomé and Príncipe)
British High Commission in Barbados (Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis)
British High Commission in Cameroon (Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Chad*)
British Embassy in Costa Rica (Nicaragua)
British Embassy in Democratic Republic of Congo (Republic of Congo, Central African Republic)
British Embassy in Ethiopia (Djibouti*)
British High Commission in Fiji (Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Tonga*, Tuvalu)
British Embassy in France (Monaco)
British High Commission in Ghana (Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin)
British Embassy in Guatemala (Honduras)
British High Commission in Guyana (Suriname)
British Embassy in Indonesia (East Timor)
British Embassy in Italy (San Marino)
British Embassy in Madagascar (Comoros)
British Embassy in Mali (Niger*)
British High Commission in New Zealand (Samoa*)
British Embassy in Philippines (Palau)
British High Commission in Rwanda (Burundi)
British Embassy in Senegal (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau)
British High Commission in Solomon Islands (Nauru)
British Embassy in Spain (Andorra)
British Embassy in Switzerland (Liechtenstein)
*Resident Heads of Mission are due to be appointed to these countries by the end of 2021.
Information on British Missions overseas including through links to details on their services and responsibilities can be found on the following public website: https://www.gov.uk/world/embassies
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to support people affected by recent droughts in Angola.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID is concerned about the effects of drought and food insecurity on people across Southern Africa and in Angola. Over one million Angolans are affected. Angola is a lower middle-income country, in sub-Saharan Africa it has the third largest economy and is the second largest oil producer. DFID does not have a bilateral programme in Angola, but we do support the people of Angola through centrally managed programmes and contributions to multilateral agencies. For example, in 2018 the UK provided over £300 million in core humanitarian funding to United Nations specialised agencies, the Red Cross movement and NGOs. As a result, the UK’s contribution is approximately 20 percent of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund that has been activated this year in Angola.
The UK is fully committed to tackling climate change and is playing a leading role in driving change around the world. Our regional programmes have supported the identification and planning of water infrastructure and livelihoods programmes to reduce vulnerability to drought including the preliminary design of water supply and sanitation projects that would build water security for more than 20,000 rural people in the Angolan Calai District.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie (HL16983), whether they will include the list of Trade Envoys and appointment dates in the text of the Written Answer for inclusion in Hansard.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement given by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade on 18 July 2019, HCWS1760.
On the 18 July 2019 my Noble Friend Lord Risby was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Lebanon which is in addition to his current role as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Algeria. Also on the 18 July 2019 the Hon. Member for Dudley North, Ian Austin MP, was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Israel. These two new appointments take the total number of Trade Envoys to 27 parliamentarians covering 58 markets.
Full List of Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys, their Markets and date of appointment
Trade Envoy Name | Designated Markets | Date of PM Appointment |
Lord Risby | Algeria | November 2012 |
| Lebanon | July 2019 |
Baroness Morris | Jordan, Kuwait, Palestinian Territories | November 2012 |
Baroness Bonham Carter | Mexico | November 2012 |
Richard Graham MP | Indonesia | November 2012 |
| Trade Envoy to the ASEAN Economic Community | July 2015 |
| Philippines, Malaysia | January 2016 |
Baroness Nicholson | Iraq | January 2014 |
| Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan | April 2016 |
| Kazakhstan | July 2017 |
Lord Janvrin | Turkey | January 2014 |
Mark Prisk MP | (Investment Envoy) Nordic and Baltic Region | April 2014 |
| Brazil | March 2016 |
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP | Egypt | November 2015 |
Adam Afriyie MP | Ghana | January 2016 |
| Guinea | September 2017 |
Lord Popat | Uganda, Rwanda | January 2016 |
John Howell MP | Nigeria | January 2016 |
Rushanara Ali MP | Bangladesh | March 2016 |
Lord Astor of Hever | Oman | November 2016 |
Lord Faulkner | Taiwan | January 2016 |
Lord Lamont | Iran | January 2016 |
Baroness Northover | Angola | January 2016 |
| Zambia | July 2017 |
Paul Scully MP | Myanmar, Brunei, Thailand | July 2017 |
Jeremy Lefroy MP | Ethiopia | July 2017 |
Andrew Selous MP | South Africa | July 2017 |
Mark Pritchard MP | Georgia, Armenia | September 2017 |
Mark Menzies MP | Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile | September 2017 |
Simon Hart MP | Panama, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica | September 2017 |
Ed Vaizey MP | Vietnam, Laos,Cambodia | September 2017 |
Sir Henry Bellingham MP | Libya | June 2018 |
Pauline Latham MP | Kenya | August 2018 |
Andrew Rosindell MP | Tanzania | September 2018 |
Ian Austin MP | Israel | July 2019 |
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the recently announced £4 million programme for English language teaching in sub-Saharan Africa will be funded from the Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
English Connects is a major new programme connecting the UK with the next generation of African youth through English. It will improve the quality of English language learning and teaching and facilitate digital literacy; creating opportunities that enable young people to fulfil their potential. The programme, initially focused on Cote D’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, is being expanded to Niger, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Djibouti, Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The British Council and Foreign and Commonwealth Office will provide support through £3.9 million in funding from the Official Development Assistance budget.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which countries in Africa have a UK visa application centre which is not open each working day.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Opening times of Visa Application Centres are determined by volumes of applications. The vast majority of Visa Application Centres are open every working day with the exception of the following; Gambia, Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the article entitled Revealed: US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war, published in the Observer on 2 March 2003, whether his Department undertook surveillance of representatives at the UN from (a) Angola, (b) Cameroon, (c) Chile, (d) Bulgaria, (e) Guinea and (f) Pakistan prior to the UN Security Council vote on a second resolution on intervention in Iraq.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
The Government deplores the leaking of any classified information, wherever it occurs. Such leaks can make the work of maintaining the security of our own country and that of our allies more difficult.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether representatives from (a) Guinea, (b) Chile, (c) Cameroon, (d) Angola, (e) Bulgaria and (f) Pakistan were called to give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry.
Answered by David Lidington
The Iraq Inquiry was independent of government, and the selection of its witnesses was a matter for the Inquiry. The Inquiry did not seek evidence from representatives of the countries listed.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invite the President of Angola to visit the UK in order to discuss his stated wish to have his country join the Commonwealth.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to deepening our bilateral relationship with Angola. Decisions on Commonwealth membership are made by consensus by all Commonwealth member states. The UK is supportive of Angola's aspiration to join the Commonwealth, provided it meets the criteria for membership. The Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office discussed this matter with the Angolan Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during his visit to Luanda in August 2018. There are no immediate plans for the President of Angola to visit the UK, but he would be very welcome to visit.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
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 promote human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is deeply concerned by the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Human rights violations and abuses include; sexual and gender based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extrajudicial killings as well as further restrictions on democratic space.
In the run-up to the December 2018 elections, the UK (alongside UN and EU colleagues) pressed the DRC Government to open up political space, release political prisoners, lift a block on internet communications, recognise peoples' right to peaceful assembly, and refrain from using excessive force against protesters.
On combatting sexual violence, the UK has helped fund Trial International, who provide support for survivors, promote accountability for sexual violence crimes and build local capacity to effectively document, investigate and litigate sexual violence cases.
We continue to encourage the DRC Government to cooperate with the UN Human Rights Council investigation into the human rights abuses in the Kasais area of southern DRC bordering Angola.