Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding has been provided to Mauritius to prosecute suspected Somali pirates captured by the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean, since the singing of a Memorandum of Understanding on this issue in 2012.

In 2013 the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt, announced a £2.25 million package supporting anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean region. As part of this, £650,000 was allocated to Mauritius for the funding of a new courtroom facility equipped to handle piracy prosecutions. The announcement can be found on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-to-allocate-further-funding-for-work-against-piracy).