Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for concluding negotiations on the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement; and what steps he is taking to support Armenia in closer engagement with the West.

I reiterated this government's steadfast support and respect for Armenia to Foreign Minister Mirzoyan on 11 October. We will continue to support Armenia through our programming engagement to develop its governance and rule of law, our defence cooperation and our trade and economic ties.

Deepening our trading relationships is an important part of this government's Growth Mission. The Department for Business and Trade is currently developing a new Trade Strategy and the FCDO is reviewing the Political Cooperation Agreement negotiations which were underway when the election was called. Next steps for the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement are part of this work.