Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the African Union on the situation in Burkina Faso following the military coup in that country.

The UK strongly supports the co-ordinated response by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aimed at bringing the crisis in Burkina Faso to a swift and peaceful resolution. We call on the interim authorities to work peacefully with all parties to bring about a return to civilian democratic governance as soon as possible. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) discussed the situation in Burkina Faso with Smail Chergui, the African Union Peace and Security Commissioner on 14 October. We will continue to engage with the African Union and ECOWAS regularly as the situation evolves.