Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Ansell and Alan Duncan

Tuesday 28th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the strength of relations between Poland and the UK.

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

British-Polish relations are strong and getting stronger. The inaugural intergovernmental consultations last November were a firm demonstration of our commitment. I was delighted to launch the first Belvedere civil society forum earlier this month in Warsaw with the Polish Foreign Minister and many others.

[Sir Alan Duncan]

The Prime Minister has rightly called this

“the great human rights issue of our time”.

The Home Office-funded conference to which my hon. Friend referred, and the workshop that went with it, was the culmination of an intense period of Government activity. As a result of the workshop, we have strengthened regional co-operation to tackle modern slavery in central and eastern Europe.

[Caroline Ansell]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Belvedere forum is a sign of our high-level engagement with Poland and a signal that it is entirely possible to have constructive and cordial discussions with our European friends, even as Brexit is being discussed?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

It was exactly that. I am pleased to say that more than 120 people attended, including leading representatives of UK-Polish businesses, along with representatives from universities and think tanks, Parliaments, media outlets, cultural institutions and, indeed, the Polish diaspora from the UK.