Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to lead new initiatives to sustain (1) trade, and (2) economic growth, in (a) Bosnia and Herzegovina, and (b) the Western Balkans.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Government has signed Trade, Partnership and Cooperation Agreements with Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, supporting jobs and economic growth, allowing us to build on our trade and investment relationships. UK Export Finance is also an important part of our offer to the region, providing competitive financing for large infrastructure projects.
With Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are working to secure a Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement that will ensure preferential terms of trade between the UK and Bosnia and Herzegovina and promote stability and prosperity in the region. We are keen to conclude this as soon as possible.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the (a) government of North Macedonian on improving prison conditions in that country prior to its application to join the European Union and (b) government of Russia on possible Russian interference in North Macedonian elections.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK supports North Macedonia through a range of projects, including to improve the functioning of prisons and electoral processes. I visited North Macedonia in October and discussed the steps the Government of North Macedonia is taking to achieve greater Euro-Atlantic integration with Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov. I also discussed security issues, including recent interference from Russia, with Foreign Minister Osmani. The UK's approach to Russia more broadly is set out in the Integrated Review: the UK takes the threat from the Russian State extremely seriously and we will continue to call out Russian aggression.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which ministers (1) have visited, and (2) are due to visit, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In July 2021, Minister Morton visited Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in her capacity as Minister for Europe and the Americas. Her visit comprised a wide range of engagements with political and civil society contacts, and encompassed not only Sarajevo but also trips to Mostar and to Srebrenica Genocide Memorial, where she paid her respects to those who were killed in the genocide. She also visited Albania and North Macedonia in October. BiH and the Western Balkans remain high on the agenda of the Government, and we are pursuing additional Ministerial visits to the region during the remainder of 2021.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on expanding the list of designated countries where an exchange agreement is in place for recognition of driving licences.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 20 May 2021, legislation was introduced to designate specified driving licences issued in the Cayman Islands, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and North Macedonia for exchange in GB.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is currently dealing with requests for reciprocal driving licence exchange agreements from Malaysia, Serbia and Sri Lanka and continues to work with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to identify further opportunities.
The DVLA has also been in contact with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to gauge interest in reciprocal licence exchange arrangements among US licensing authorities.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed overseas, by country of deployment.
Answered by James Heappey
In addition to the 7,025 at sea in Ships and Submarines around the globe, figures for those deployed overseas on 22 Jul 2021, including in Defence Sections of Embassies, International Headquarters, permanent deployments, on UN Duties, on Operations, participating in international exercises, or in support of other Defence activity, are listed in the table below. This represents a snapshot as numbers are continuously changing. Some of these details have been withheld due to operational sensitivity, including our current presence in Afghanistan.
COUNTRY | Personnel |
ALBANIA | 1 |
ALGERIA | 2 |
ARGENTINA | 2 |
AUSTRALIA | 200 |
AUSTRIA | 2 |
BAHRAIN | 193 |
BANGLADESH | 1 |
BARBADOS | 3 |
BELGIUM | 280 |
BELIZE | 67 |
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 3 |
BRAZIL | 2 |
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM | 734 |
BULGARIA | 1 |
CAMEROON | 17 |
CANADA | 295 |
CHAD | 1 |
CHILE | 2 |
CHINA | 5 |
COLOMBIA | 3 |
CROATIA | 5 |
CURACAO | 2 |
CYPRUS | 3,272 |
CZECH REPUBLIC | 18 |
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO | 4 |
DENMARK | 4 |
DIEGO GARCIA | 43 |
DJIBOUTI | 4 |
EGYPT | 4 |
ESTONIA | 716 |
ETHIOPIA | 2 |
FALKLAND ISLANDS | 843 |
FIJI | 1 |
FINLAND | 1 |
FRANCE | 83 |
GEORGIA | 34 |
GERMANY | 585 |
GHANA | 3 |
GIBRALTAR | 516 |
GREECE | 53 |
INDIA | 8 |
INDONESIA | 2 |
IRAQ | 152 |
IRELAND | 1 |
ISRAEL | 4 |
ITALY | 196 |
JAMAICA | 2 |
JAPAN | 5 |
JORDAN | 215 |
KAZAKHSTAN | 2 |
KENYA | 617 |
KOSOVO | 36 |
KUWAIT | 84 |
LATVIA | 19 |
LEBANON | 4 |
LITHUANIA | 2 |
MALAYSIA | 7 |
MALI | 442 |
MEXICO | 2 |
MOLDOVA | 1 |
MOROCCO | 2 |
NEPAL | 69 |
NETHERLANDS | 116 |
NEW ZEALAND | 6 |
NIGERIA | 53 |
NORTH MACEDONIA | 3 |
NORWAY | 49 |
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 6 |
OMAN | 235 |
PAKISTAN | 13 |
POLAND | 164 |
PORTUGAL | 27 |
QATAR | 134 |
ROMANIA | 175 |
RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 1 |
SAINT HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA | 23 |
SAUDI ARABIA | 142 |
SENEGAL | 6 |
SERBIA | 1 |
SEYCHELLES | 1 |
SIERRA LEONE | 2 |
SINGAPORE | 9 |
SLOVAKIA | 1 |
SLOVENIA | 11 |
SOMALIA | 63 |
SOUTH AFRICA | 2 |
SOUTH KOREA | 7 |
SOUTH SUDAN | 5 |
SPAIN | 37 |
SRI LANKA | 1 |
SWEDEN | 3 |
THAILAND | 2 |
TUNISIA | 4 |
TURKEY | 46 |
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS | 15 |
UGANDA | 2 |
UKRAINE | 436 |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 141 |
UNITED STATES | 1,053 |
UZBEKISTAN | 1 |
VIETNAM | 2 |
ZAMBIA | 6 |
ZIMBABWE | 1 |
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the News release of 1 July 2021 by Police Scotland entitled Royal College of Defence Studies makes visit to SPC Tulliallan, which 22 countries comprised the delegation from the Royal College of Defence Studies that visited the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan on 30 June 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
The RCDS course member visit to the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan on 30 June 2021 comprised delegates from the following 21 nations; Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Chile, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE, the UK, and the USA.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much bilateral official development assistance they expect to provide to North Macedonia in 2021/22.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Annual country-level allocations will be published in the FCDO's 2021 Annual Report later this year, and programme-level funding is regularly updated on DevTracker.
Final country data is published in the Statistics for International Development each year, and spend for 2021 will be published in this document in autumn 2022.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her planned timetable is for negotiating revised trade agreements with (a) Liechtenstein, (b) Switzerland, (c) Canada, (d) Singapore, (e) Israel, (f) Mexico, (g) Egypt, (h) North Macedonia, (i) Chile, (j) Morocco, (k) Ukraine, (l) Lebanon, (m) Jordan, (n) Tunisia, (o) Serbia, (p) Georgia, (q) Faroe Islands, (r) Moldova, (s) Albania, (t) Kosovo and (u) Palestine to enable companies using the duty-free provisions in the UK’s new generation of freeports to access the tariff reductions available on UK exports to those countries.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom has already committed to beginning negotiations with Canada and Mexico by the end of 2021. HM Government will continue to keep all agreements under review, as we seek to improve benefits for all British businesses, including those operating in our freeports.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the new regional training initiative in the Western Balkans; and whether it will include joint training for Serbia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The establishment of a Western Balkans regional training initiative is a further sign of the UK's continuing commitment to the Western Balkans. The initiative will develop our understanding of the training needs of the Armed Forces of the Western Balkans, and improve the way we coordinate and deliver training and capacity building. We aim to ensure the nations of the region can contribute to international security and to increase cooperation. The training cell will be established later this year and discussions are ongoing about what training will be provided.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what countries the British Armed Forces provided training to on UK territory in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Personnel from the countries listed in the table below have attended defence education or training in the UK in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Year | Countries |
2019/20 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELGIUM BELIZE BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE CHINA COLOMBIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GRENADA GUYANA HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LEBANON LESOTHO LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MAURITIUS MEXICO MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PAPUA NEW GUINEA PARAGUAY PHILIPPINES POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RWANDA SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SERBIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVENIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWEDEN SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TURKEY UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA UZBEKISTAN VIETNAM |
2020/21 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BELGIUM BELIZE BHUTAN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE COLOMBIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT LEBANON LITHUANIA MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PARAGUAY POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA SAUDI ARABIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TUNISIA UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA |
Note: MOD records information on International Defence Training (IDT) by financial year, rather than by calendar year. Information is taken from a central IDT database. Some activity may not be captured on that database.