Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with Egypt.

The UK wants Egypt to succeed as a stable, prosperous and democratic country. The UK-Egypt relationship is important and spans a wide range of fields, from foreign policy, to trade and investment, economic reform, education, and healthcare. British companies continue to be one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment into Egypt. The Government works closely with the Egyptian authorities to counter shared threats from terrorism, to promote the safety and security of over 450,000 British citizens who visit Egypt each year, and to support longer-term reform. A close relationship enables us to register concerns where we have them, for example on human rights. British Ministers regularly meet their Egyptian counterparts. I visited Cairo last month for discussions on a wide range of bilateral issues.