Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for what reason freedom of religious belief was not included in the UK-Middle East and North Africa region development partnership summary, published in July 2023.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and reaffirmed the importance of upholding this right in the International Development White Paper, which was published last month. We monitor the situation for religious and non-religious communities globally, and work bilaterally and multilaterally to promote FoRB. Earlier this year, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed interfaith dialogue when he met the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The Minister also visited Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic Family House, the interfaith complex housing the Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, St Francis Church and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, and was clear that, "we must never be complacent on protecting freedom of religion and belief."