Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have (1) had contact, and (2) held meetings with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; and, if so, in what capacity, and on which occasions.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is a valued partner of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). FCDO Ministers and officials routinely hold meetings with counterparts to discuss shared priorities such as global health, education, climate change, and women and girls. Our engagement with the CIFF includes co-hosting the Global Partnerships Conference in May 2026, alongside South Africa and British International Investment, and a range of co-funded initiatives. For example, the CIFF is working with the FCDO's Women's Integrated Sexual Health Dividend programme in West and Central Africa by providing over $150 million in parallel funding through the 'Challenge Fund'.
Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation has received in grants, subsidies, or any other public funding.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is a valued partner of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). FCDO Ministers and officials routinely hold meetings with counterparts to discuss shared priorities such as global health, education, climate change, and women and girls. Our engagement with the CIFF includes co-hosting the Global Partnerships Conference in May 2026, alongside South Africa and British International Investment, and a range of co-funded initiatives. For example, the CIFF is working with the FCDO's Women's Integrated Sexual Health Dividend programme in West and Central Africa by providing over $150 million in parallel funding through the 'Challenge Fund'.
Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to improve diplomatic ties with Cuba since the appointment of Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The transition to the first non-Castro President of Cuba in decades was an historic moment, which I welcomed publicly.
While it is still early in President Diaz-Canel's time in office, the UK has already begun to engage the new administration. The Head of Latin America Department visited Cuba shortly after President Diaz-Canel's appointment to attend Cuba's Tourism Fair, for which the UK was named 'Country of Honour', and for meetings with the Cuban Government and civil society. He was clear about the UK's desire to continue improving the relationship between the UK and Cuba.
We look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with President Diaz-Canel and his new ministerial team to promote trade and investment at the same time as maintaining a broad political dialogue, including on human rights and the need for reform.