Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 potential impact of the agreement with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory on global security.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The base on Diego Garcia is critical to national and international security. It has enabled the UK, the US, and our allies and partners to combat some of the most challenging threats to global peace and security, including those from terrorism, organised crime, and wider instability.
Following this agreement, for the first time in over 50 years, the base will be undisputed and legally secure, able to operate to its full strategic capability without risk of challenge. The Agreement will mean that the UK and US will continue to operate the base well into the next century with strong protections from malign influence.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy not to provide Official Development Assistance to countries that have a higher (a) gross domestic product and (b) purchasing parity power than the UK.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In line with international rules, the UK provides Official Development Assistance (ODA) only to countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita below $13,846. All recipients of our ODA have a lower GNI per capita than the UK, including when adjusted for purchasing power parity.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for the UK's diplomatic relationship with India of reports of India holding talks on a strategic partnership with Russia.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HMG recognises India's longstanding relationship with Russia. We regularly raise Russia's illegal war in Ukraine with the Government of India. The Foreign Secretary did so most recently with India's External Affairs Minister in September. More broadly, the UK and India are close bilateral partners, and we are exploring ways to enhance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. When he visited India in July, the Foreign Secretary discussed with Prime Minster Modi, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and NSA Doval how we might strengthen the UK-India relationship for economic growth as well as improve cooperation on defence, technology, climate and education.