Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his French counterpart on France's defence cooperation agreement with Southern Cyprus and use of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base and (b) President Tatar of Northern Cyprus on a potential defence agreement between the UK and Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty
While our bilateral military cooperation is strong, the Foreign Secretary has not recently discussed France's defence cooperation agreement with Cyprus with his French counterpart. In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus and has no intention of discussing a potential defence agreement with the Turkish Cypriot administration.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of the UK in helping to preserve peace in Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We remain committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a just and lasting Cyprus settlement within the UN parameters, as stressed by the Foreign Secretary when he met the former Cypriot Foreign Minister Kasoulides in November. The UK actively engages with all parties on this and contributes to the settlement process in a number of ways, including through our deployment of military personnel to UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. In January we led the drafting of the UNSC resolution to renew the mandate of the Peacekeeping Force, which was unanimously adopted by the UNSC, maintaining the Council's longstanding unity on Cyprus.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on reported social media comments by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stating that Britain has always been a source of evil and catastrophe.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
We have a long-standing bilateral relationship with Iran. This is not without its challenges and we continue to engage with Iran, including at ministerial level, on a range of important issues. However, no representations have been made on the Supreme Leader's comments.
On the reference to Palestine, we are clear that we want to see the creation of a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian state - living in peace and security, side by side with Israel.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to strengthen consular support for UK nationals overseas.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Consular support is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case, and prioritises those that need help the most. A key aspect of our support is prevention to help British people keep safe overseas, including representations to authorities overseas to make local environments safer for British people. Where this is not possible we may advise against travel. The Foreign Secretary announced today that we advise against all but essential travel for the next 30 days due to the current outbreak of Covid19, which has affected our ability to provide consular support.
We have specialist teams working on forced marriage, murder, kidnap and cases involving those on death row or at risk of the death penalty. Additionally we work with, and fund, other organisations where these are better placed to provide support, or have specialist skills that we need including the Victim Support Homicide Service, Lucie Blackman Trust, and (for detainees) Prisoners Abroad.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to strengthen the rules-based international order.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The rules-based international system has made the world collectively more prosperous and safe than ever before. Today, upholding and strengthening this system is a priority for the government. We are reinvigorating and expanding the UK's diplomatic network in order to reinforce our friendships and alliances, to defend the values of democracy and human rights, to reform the multilateral architecture where needed, and to reach agreement on new rules in evolving policy areas. This will allow the UK to play a leading role in shaping a rules-based international system fit for the future.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made on improving relations between the UK and China.
Answered by Mark Field
The Prime Minister’s visit to China in January opened a new chapter in what has become known as the ‘Golden Era’ in UK-China relations. The recent meeting between the Prime Minister and Premier Li at the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in October emphasised the broad mutual benefit from the relationship. Our aim is to maintain a strong partnership which supports economic growth for both countries and helps to tackle global challenges. This stronger partnership should mean we can have frank discussions on issues where we disagree.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps his Department is taking to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Development)
The UK is taking a leading role in ending the illegal wildlife trade globally. The Government is funding practical action to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods in the communities affected by the illegal wildlife trade. We will host an ambitious high-level international conference in October to push for further progress.