Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase domestic and foreign policy cooperation between the UK and the Sultanate of Oman.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK and Oman enjoy a broad and exceptionally close relationship. Oman is a longstanding friend and ally in the Gulf, with shared interests across diplomatic, economic , defence and security matters. We are working more closely than ever across a number of fields including on economic, defence and counter-terrorism matters. Later this year, Exercise Saif Sareea 3 will take place in Oman – the largest UK-Omani military exercise for 16 years. Oman is also an important partner in regional affairs. My Rt Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary (the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Mr Johnson) has visited Oman twice in the last four months to underline our commitment to the bilateral relationship and to take forward our regional cooperation.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the motion passed in the Parliament of South Africa on 1 March to confiscate land without compensation from white farmers.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We welcome the South African Government's assurance that 'the process of land distribution would be orderly, within South African laws and taking into consideration both the social and economic impact.' We further welcome President Ramaphosa's commitment that land reform will be carried out 'without negatively affecting economic growth, agricultural production and food security' and his assurance that he would 'not allow any smash and grab interventions'.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the human rights record of Cameroon and the impact, if any, this is having on anglophone Cameroon.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Cameroon is a State Party to major human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It has, however, signed but not ratified a number of significant instruments.
In recent years Cameroon's far north has been blighted by Boko Haram and this has led to the introduction of strict anti-terror laws. Human rights non-governmental organisations report that the Government of Cameroon is using this legislation to arrest and detain Anglophone separatists. Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé met President Biya on 21 December 2017 and emphasised the Government of Cameroon's legal obligations in respect of human rights.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when consideration was last given to investigating the possibility of arranging a State Visit to the UK by the President of India.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has excellent relations with the Government of India and there is an extensive range of two-way visits by members of each government. As a matter of policy, the Government does not discuss or disclose the details of possible visits by Heads of State or Government until invitations have been issued and accepted, and any announcement is made by agreement with the visiting Head of State or Government.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve intergovernmental relations between the UK and Argentina.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has made significant progress towards a more constructive relationship with Argentina since the election of President Macri in September 2015. In September 2016, the Minister for Europe and the Americas visited Argentina and agreed a Joint Communiqué that committed both countries to closer co-operation across all aspects of our relationship.
As a result, co-operation is increasing, including on trade, science and innovation, anti-corruption and security issues. The Scottish Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of State for International Trade (Greg Hands) all visited Argentina in 2017, and the Prime Minister last spoke to President Macri on 12 December.
Our position on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the right of the Islanders to determine their own future remains unchanged.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of UK–India cooperation on environmental policy.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK and India collaborate across the full range of environmental issues, including access to affordable and clean energy, mobilisation of green finance, development of climate-resilient infrastructure, and sustainable urban development.
The first India-UK Energy for Growth Dialogue was held in April 2017 in New Delhi. It provided an enhanced framework for UK-India cooperation to increase interest and deals in the renewables sector. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, Greg Clark, announced up to £20 million of new technical assistance for collaboration in the areas of renewables and energy efficiency. In January 2018 we signed a UK-India memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in urban transport policy, planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation for transport. The UK has a five-year partnership with the Government of India to develop three smart cities in Amravati, Indore and Pune. UK and India also cooperate on environmental issues through a range of multilateral fora.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve political relations with the government of Canada.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK and Canada are already close allies. We work closely on defence and intelligence matters and enjoy close cooperation on many issues where we have commons aims and values. We are the only two countries that are members of all four of The Commonwealth, NATO, the G7, and the G20.
The Prime Minister visited Ottawa on 18 September, to strengthen ties between the UK and Canada. During her visit, a new framework for cooperation was agreed, a new Strategic Dialogue involving our Foreign, Defence and Development Secretaries will be supported by a Public Policy Forum.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of China regarding democracy in Hong Kong.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Minister for Asia and the Pacific discussed the importance of political reform in Hong Kong with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, Liu Haixing, on 16 February in Beijing; and in his meeting with Wang Yongqing, Secretary-General of the Central Commission for Politics and Law, in London on 17 February.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to strengthen diplomatic relations with China.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK-China relationship is strong, growing, and delivering benefits for both countries. During the State Visit of President Xi Jinping in October 2015 we established a Comprehensive Strategic Global Partnership for the 21st Century. Through this partnership we are working together to tackle global challenges, build our economies for the future, and deepen our people to people links.
The strength of our relationship is demonstrated by the breadth and depth of high level dialogue between our two countries. We have annual high-level Ministerial dialogues on global strategic issues, economic and financial issues, and on our people to people links (covering a range of issues such as education, health, culture and innovation). These are underpinned by a wide range of other dialogues, covering issues such as security, human rights, energy and foreign policy. These dialogues enable us to deliver benefits for the prosperity aims and global agendas of both our countries. They also allow us to discuss issues such as cyber and human rights, because a strong, mature relationship means we can have open and constructive discussion on all subjects, including where we might not agree.
The UK Government has five posts in mainland China, making it our largest overseas network by staff numbers. We also have full time staff based in a number of China's regional cities that have the highest growth potential.
Asked by: Lord Northbrook (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to seek support from other EU member states for the UK's position on Gibraltar.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Her Majesty's Government is committed to effective international representation of Gibraltar’s interests. This includes working actively in the EU, in close consultation with the Government of Gibraltar, to ensure that Gibraltar’s priorities are understood by the EU institutions and EU Member States.