Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide a full copy of his call logs for 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th of August 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As set out in the Foreign Secretary's statement to Parliament on September 6th, he visited Qatar and Pakistan from 1-3 September and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from 1-3 September. The Foreign Secretary has also had telephone conversations with the Uzbek Foreign Minister on 6 September, the Tajik Foreign Minister, on 2 September, and with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on 27 and 25 August. Lord Ahmad has additionally called the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, on 3 September, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan on 25 August and Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan on the same day. They held discussions with counterparts on securing safe passage for those fleeing Afghanistan and advancing the government's international priorities.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that British nationals and non-British nationals who are eligible for relocation to the UK who remain in Afghanistan are able to safely cross borders into neighbouring states.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We stand by our commitment to support those who have worked for us, and to take all remaining eligible cases. We are clear that the Taliban must ensure safe passage for these people out of Afghanistan and any engagement with them will emphasise this first and foremost. We have been in frequent contact with neighbouring countries and Rapid Deployment Teams (RDT) have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan. An RDT also deployed to Dubai to help those in transit.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to work with countries neighbouring Afghanistan on keeping their borders open and resettling refugees that flee by land.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary visited Qatar and Pakistan from 1-3 September and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from 1-3 September. The Foreign Secretary has also had telephone conversations with the Uzbek Foreign Minister on 6 September, the Tajik Foreign Minister, on 2 September, and with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on 27 August. Lord Ahmad has additionally called the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, on 3 September, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan on 25 August and Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan on the same day. They held discussions with counterparts on securing safe passage for those fleeing Afghanistan and advancing the government's international priorities. In addition, FCDO Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that British nationals in Afghanistan are able to return home safely; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have already evacuated the overwhelming majority of those to whom we have a direct obligation in an unprecedented effort from our military and Civil Servants. Over 15,000 people , including more than 8,000 British Nationals and their dependants, left Afghanistan between 15 August and 29 August thanks to UK support.
The UK Government is working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country.
The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited countries in the region between 1-3 September for discussions on securing safe passage for those fleeing Afghanistan and advancing the government's international priorities.
In addition, FCDO Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan.
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: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value was of exports of arms and military equipment to (a) Iraq, (b) Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, (c) Libya, (d) Mali, (e) Myanmar, (f) Nicaragua, (g) Pakistan, (h) Russia, (i) Saudi Arabia, (j) Somalia, (k) South Sudan, (l) Sri Lanka, (m) Sudan, (n) Syria, (o) Turkmenistan, (p) Uzbekistan, (q) Venezuela, (r) Yemen and (s) Zimbabwe in 2020.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Such exports require an export licence, which are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the “Consolidated Criteria”).
HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations on GOV.UK containing detailed information including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. The most recent publication was on 13th July 2021.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK provided police or military training to (a) Iraq, (b) Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, (c) Libya, (d) Mali, (e) Myanmar, (f) Nicaragua, (g) Pakistan, (h) Russia, (i) Saudi Arabia, (j) Somalia, (k) South Sudan, (l) Sri Lanka, (m) Sudan, (n) Syria, (o) Turkmenistan, (p) Uzbekistan, (q) Venezuela, (r) Yemen and (s) Zimbabwe in 2020.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence records information on International Defence Training (IDT) by financial year, rather than by calendar year. During FY 2020-21, personnel from the following countries have received some form of UK defence education or training:
Iraq; Israel; Occupied Palestinian Territories; Mali; Pakistan; Nicaragua; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan
No training was provided to the other countries listed.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to appoint trade envoys for (1) Mongolia, (2) Uzbekistan, (3) Kazakhstan, (4) Kyrgyzstan, (5) Tajikistan, and (6) Afghanistan; if so, when those envoys will be appointed; and what is the process by which they (a) select, and (b) appoint, such envoys.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
My noble Friend Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne was appointed Trade Envoy in July 2017 to Kazakhstan and in October 2020 the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham, Daniel Kawczynski, was appointed Trade Envoy to Mongolia. There are no plans to appoint a Trade Envoy to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or Afghanistan.
My Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are drawn from both Houses and across the political spectrum. They are chosen based on relevant skills and experience required to undertake the role. This experience can be related to their assigned market or UK industry knowledge, or their Government-to-Government experience, as well as willingness and an ability to undertake some international travel. Trade Envoys are appointed by the Prime Minister, usually following a recommendation by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support freedom of religion in Uzbekistan.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. The UK and Uzbekistan have an open dialogue on a wide-range of human rights issues. The UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, recently undertook a virtual visit to the country, and held a follow up meeting with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister, which included discussions on protection of fundamental freedoms. Following lobbying from our Ambassador to Uzbekistan, alongside other diplomatic missions in Tashkent, the Uzbek authorities submitted a draft law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations to the Venice Commission and we urge Uzbekistan to consider the Commission's response to the draft. Our Ambassador also recently met with local religious groups and listened to concerns regarding registration of religious organisations. We will continue to raise issues related to freedom of religion or belief with the Uzbek authorities.
The Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, underlined the UK's commitment to FoRB for all in a number of international meetings in November 2020, speaking at the Ministerial to Advance FoRB and the Ministers' Forum of the Alliance. On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to FoRB by appointing Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy for FoRB. Mrs Bruce represents the UK at meetings of the Alliance who work to advocate for the rights of individuals being discriminated against or persecuted on the basis of their faith or belief.
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.