Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the progress of the African Union's peace initiative in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

The UK welcomes the important step towards peace taken by the Ethiopian Government and Tigray People's Liberation Front in signing a cessation of hostilities on 2 November, and commends their choice to end the devastating two-year-long conflict.

We are grateful to the leadership shown in brokering this critical agreement by African Union Commission Chairperson Faki, African Union High Representative to the Horn of Africa Obasanjo, former South African Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Kenyan President Kenyatta, and the South African Government in hosting the talks.