Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on Sudan of the as a result of the meeting of the UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum, held in London on 12 December 2017.

The policies of the British Government on Sudan have not changed as a result of the UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum. As part of our phased increase in direct engagement with the Government of Sudan, we continue to consider opportunities to promote trade with Sudan. Trade can help open up closed off political and economic systems, and thereby help to improve the human rights situation. Sudan remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Priority Country and improving human rights is a key objective in our engagement with Sudan. The UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum was a private event, organised and funded by Developing Markets Associates, in cooperation with the Sudanese Embassy in London.