Middle East and North Africa
Debate between Alistair Burt and Helen Grant(12 years, 1 month ago)
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Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)
2. What steps he is taking to promote political and economic freedom in the Middle East and North Africa; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)
In addition to diplomatic and political support given to countries in the region, following the dramatic events of the last 18 months, our Arab partnership programme, which is now worth £110 million, provides practical support with a range of projects, including election reform, media transparency and employment initiatives. We will operate across 15 countries in this coming year, with a budget of some £60 million?
[Official Report, 4 September 2012, Vol. 549, c. 139.]
Letter of correction from Alistair Burt:
An error has been identified in the answer given on 4 September 2012 to the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant).
The correct answer should have been:
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alistair Burt and Helen Grant(12 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)
2. What steps he is taking to promote political and economic freedom in the Middle East and North Africa; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)
In addition to diplomatic and political support given to countries in the region, following the dramatic events of the last 18 months, our Arab partnership programme, which is now worth £110 million, provides practical support with a range of projects, including election reform, media transparency and employment initiatives. We will operate across 15 countries in this coming year, with a budget of some £60 million.[Official Report, 5 November 2012, Vol. 552, c. 2MC.]
Alistair Burt
We would like to see Libya as the partner of choice in a range of commercial activities. The work done to date, following the re-establishment of the UK Trade & Investment office in September last year, has been to look at key sectors of mutual benefit to us both, such as health care, education and civil security. UKTI has led some 12 trade missions over the last year—about one a month—and has a further 27 planned.