Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Mongolia on (a) the protection of human rights and (b) the reduction in the level of poverty in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
As Minister for Asia and the Pacific, I met with several Cabinet Ministers during my visit to Mongolia in July and with a delegation of Mongolian parliamentarians this month. During these meetings I highlighted the importance Mongolia plays as a democratic role model for other developing countries in Asia and beyond. The country has made significant progress since the peaceful revolution that overthrew its Soviet system almost thirty years ago. I also discussed the contribution the UK is making towards Mongolia’s economic growth, primarily through Rio Tinto’s major investment in the world-class Oyu Tolgoi mine, but also through our programmes in the environment and education sectors. Sustaining this growth will be critical to eradicating poverty in Mongolia in the coming years.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to support the inclusion of Mongolia in the six-party talks on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
Answered by Mark Field
Six-party talks have not taken place since 2009. There are however ongoing talks between the US and North Korea, and talks between South and North Korea, in which North Korea has committed to work towards complete denuclearisation. We now want to see North Korea take decisive steps to fulfil that commitment as required by multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. There is no immediate prospect of six-party talks resuming but if that situation were to change and all the parties involved supported the inclusion of Mongolia we would have no objection.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2018 to Question 178257 on Trade Promotion, if he will publish the visits undertaken by each Trade Envoy in the last year.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The table below outlines all overseas visits undertaken by the PM’s Trade Envoys from October 2017 – September 2018. In total they have undertaken 61 overseas visits to 41 markets in the last year.
Trade Envoy | Market visited | Date Markets visited: |
Adam Afriyie MP | Ghana Ghana, Guinea Ghana, Guinea | 8-11 November 2017 8-13 April 16-21 September 2018 |
Andrew Murrison MP | Morocco Tunisia | 7-10 February 2018 No visit |
Andrew Percy MP | Canada | 4-9 November 2017 8-12 February 2108 27-11 June 2018 |
Andrew Selous MP | South Africa | 6-9 February 2018 27-30 August 2018 |
Baroness Bonham-Carter | Mexico | 10-16 February 2018 23-30 September 2018 |
Baroness Morris | Kuwait | 5-8 December 2017 |
Baroness Nicholson | Azerbaijan, Kuwait(for Iraq conference) Turkmenistan | 12-16 February 2018 28 May-1 June 2018 |
Baroness Northover | Angola Zambia | 7-10 November 2017 19-21 September 2018 26-28 September 2018 8-16 February 2018 |
Ed Vaizey MP | Vietnam Cambodia, Laos Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos | 5-11 November 2017 8-12 February 2018 29 September - 3 October 2018 |
Jeremy Lefroy MP | Ethiopia | 8-11 November 2017 11-16 February 2018 28-31 May 2018 3-5 September 2018 |
John Howell MP | Nigeria | 6-9 November 2017 |
Julian Knight MP | Mongolia | 5-10 April 2018 19-24 September 2018 |
Lord Astor | Oman | 2-6 October 2017 11-14 February 2018 |
Lord Faulkner | Taiwan | 24-31 January 2018 17-22 September 2018 |
Lord Hollick | Tanzania | 1-4 October 2017 |
Lord Janvrin | Turkey | 2-5 October 2017 12-14 February 2018 |
Lord King | Saudi Arabia | 23-25 September 2017 |
Lord Lamont | Iran | 23-28 September 2018 |
Lord Popat | Uganda Rwanda | 16-24 November 2017 13-16 February 2018 |
Lord Risby | Algeria | 6-9 November 2017 29-1 May 2018 |
Mark Menzies MP | Columbia, Chile Columbia, Chile Peru | 4-10 November 2017 31 March-11 April 2018 23-28 September 2018 |
Mark Pritchard MP | Georgia, Armenia | 6-9 October 2017 1-10 November 2017 7-21 February 2018 6-11 June 2018 |
Paul Scully MP | Thailand | 5-11 November 2017 |
Ranil Jayawardena MP | Sri Lanka | 14-17 February 2018 17-21 September 2018 |
Rehman Chishti MP | Pakistan | 8-11 November 2017 11-15 February 2018 14-18 September 2018 |
Richard Graham MP | Malaysia Indonesia | 3-5 November 2017 31 July – 3 August 2018 11-13 April 2018 |
Rushanara Ali MP | Bangladesh | 20-31 July 2018 |
Simon Hart MP | Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic | 10-13 April 2018 |
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson | Egypt | 28 July – 1 August 2018 22-27 September 2018 |
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their response to the International Development Committee’s report Definition and administration of ODA (HC 1011), whether any middle-income country on the World Bank’s list may be eligible for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA); and which of those countries are currently in receipt of UK ODA.
Answered by Lord Bates
The OECD DAC determines which countries are ODA eligible based on World Bank GNI per capita data. The list of ODA eligible countries consists of all low and Middle-Income countries except for those that are members of the G8 or the European Union. The UK provided bilateral ODA through a range of government departments to the following middle-income countries in 2016:
Middle Income Countries (Lower & Upper) in Receipt of 2016 bilateral UK ODA | ||
Albania | Gabon | Nicaragua |
Algeria | Georgia | Nigeria |
Antigua and Barbuda | Ghana | Pakistan |
Argentina | Grenada | Panama |
Armenia | Guatemala | Papua New Guinea |
Azerbaijan | Guyana | Paraguay |
Belarus | Honduras | Peru |
Belize | India | Philippines |
Bolivia | Indonesia | Serbia |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | Iran | Seychelles |
Botswana | Iraq | South Africa |
Brazil | Jamaica | Sri Lanka |
Cameroon | Jordan | St. Helena |
Cape Verde | Kazakhstan | St. Lucia |
Chile | Kosovo | St.Vincent & Grenadines |
China | Kyrgyz Republic | Swaziland |
Colombia | Lebanon | Syria |
Congo, Rep. | Libya | Thailand |
Costa Rica | Malaysia | Tunisia |
Cote d'Ivoire | Maldives | Turkey |
Cuba | Mauritius | Turkmenistan |
Dominica | Mexico | Ukraine |
Dominican Republic | Moldova | Uruguay |
Ecuador | Mongolia | Uzbekistan |
Egypt | Montenegro | Venezuela |
El Salvador | Montserrat | Vietnam |
Fiji | Morocco | West Bank & Gaza Strip |
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Namibia |
|
Source: Statistics on International Development 2017
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which foreign armed forces the UK armed forces has trained in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The list below sets out the foreign states that were provided training and/or education by the UK Armed Forces for the period 25 July 2017 – 25 July 2018.
Afghanistan |
Albania |
Algeria |
Angola |
Anguilla |
Antigua and Barbuda |
Argentina |
Armenia |
Australia |
Austria |
Azerbaijan |
Bahamas, The |
Bahrain |
Bangladesh |
Barbados |
Belarus |
Belgium |
Belize |
Bermuda |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Botswana |
Brazil |
Brunei |
Bulgaria |
Cameroon |
Canada |
Chile |
China |
Colombia |
Cote D'Ivoire |
Croatia |
Cyprus |
Czech Republic |
Denmark |
Djibouti |
Dominican Republic |
East Timor |
Egypt |
Eritrea |
Estonia |
Ethiopia |
Fiji |
Finland |
France |
Gambia, The |
Georgia |
Germany |
Ghana |
Greece |
Guatemala |
Guyana |
Hungary |
Iceland |
India |
Indonesia |
Iraq |
Ireland |
Israel |
Italy |
Jamaica |
Japan |
Jordan |
Kazakhstan |
Kenya |
Kosovo |
Kuwait |
Kyrgyzstan |
Latvia |
Lebanon |
Liechtenstein |
Lithuania |
Luxembourg |
Macedonia |
Madagascar |
Malawi |
Malaysia |
Mali |
Malta |
Mauritania |
Mauritius |
Mexico |
Moldova |
Mongolia |
Montenegro |
Montserrat |
Morocco |
Nepal |
Netherlands |
New Zealand |
Niger |
Nigeria |
Norway |
Oman |
Pakistan |
Palestinian Autonomous Areas |
Papua New Guinea |
Paraguay |
Peru |
Philippines |
Poland |
Portugal |
Qatar |
Romania |
Rwanda |
Saudi Arabia |
Senegal |
Serbia |
Seychelles |
Sierra Leone |
Singapore |
Slovakia |
Slovenia |
Somalia |
South Africa |
South Korea |
Spain |
Sri Lanka |
St. Lucia |
Sudan |
Sweden |
Switzerland |
Tajikistan |
Tanzania |
Thailand |
Tonga |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Tunisia |
Turkey |
Uganda |
Ukraine |
United Arab Emirates |
Uruguay |
United States |
Uzbekistan |
Vanuatu |
Vietnam |
Zambia |
Zimbabwe |
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which member states of the United Nations have recognised Palestine as a state.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
136 UN member states have recognised a Palestinian state. They are: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Antigua & Barbuda; Argentina; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belize; Benin; Bhutan; Bolivia; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Comoros; Republic of Congo; Costa Rica; Cote d' Ivoire; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Lucia; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Slovakia; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Suriname; Swaziland; Sweden; Syria; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Vietnam; Yemen; Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Holy See, which is not a member of the United Nations but has permanent observer status, has also recognised a Palestinian state.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries have received anti-corruption support funded by the UK since 2015.
Answered by Lord Bates
Countries that have received UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) for anti-corruption support1 in 2015 and 2016 are listed below:
Country | UK ODA contributor involved | Country | UK ODA contributor involved | Country | UK ODA contributor involved |
Afghanistan | CSSF, DFID and FCO | India | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Peru | FCO |
Albania | FCO | Indonesia | BEIS, DFID, Prosperity Fund and FCO | Philippines | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Algeria | FCO | Iraq | FCO | Rwanda | DFID and HMRC |
Angola | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Jamaica | CSSF, DFID and FCO | Senegal | FCO |
Argentina | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Jordan | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Serbia | CSSF and FCO |
Armenia | CSSF and FCO | Kenya | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Seychelles | FCO |
Bangladesh | DFID | Korea, Dem. Rep. | FCO | Sierra Leone | DFID, FCO and HMRC |
Belize | FCO | Kosovo | CSSF and FCO | Somalia | CSSF and DFID |
Bolivia | FCO | Kyrgyz Republic | DFID and FCO | South Africa | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | CSSF and FCO | Laos | FCO | South Sudan | DFID |
Brazil | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Lebanon | DFID | Sri Lanka | FCO |
Burma | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Lesotho | HMRC | St. Helena | DFID |
Cameroon | FCO | Liberia | DFID | Sudan | DFID and FCO |
Chile | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Madagascar | FCO | Syria | FCO |
China | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Malawi | DFID, HMRC and Scot Gov | Tajikistan | DFID |
Colombia | CSSF, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Malaysia | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Tanzania | DFID and HMRC |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | DFID | Mauritius | FCO | Thailand | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Costa Rica | FCO | Mexico | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Tunisia | FCO |
Cote d'Ivoire | FCO | Moldova | DFID and FCO | Turkey | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Dominican Republic | CSSF | Mongolia | FCO | Uganda | Defra, DFID and HMRC |
Egypt | BEIS, DFID and FCO | Montenegro | FCO | Ukraine | CSSF, DFID, FCO and HMRC |
Ethiopia | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Montserrat | DFID and FCO | Uruguay | FCO |
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | FCO | Morocco | FCO | Uzbekistan | FCO |
Gambia | FCO | Mozambique | DFID | Vietnam | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Ghana | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Namibia | FCO | West Bank & Gaza Strip | DFID |
Guatemala | FCO | Nepal | DFID | Yemen | DFID |
Guinea | FCO | Nigeria | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Zambia | DFID |
Guyana | DFID and FCO | Pakistan | CSSF, DFID, FCO and HMRC | Zimbabwe | DFID |
Honduras | FCO | Panama | FCO |
|
|
1. Anti-corruption activities cover support to anti-corruption organisations and institutions, public finance management, public sector policy and management, tax and administrative support, mining policy and administrative management, and sub-national government. Some projects cover multiple countries; ODA data categorises these as “Developing Country, unspecified” or as regional spend.
UK ODA data for calendar year 2017 will be published in autumn 2018.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has provided to China to improve human rights in Inner Mongolia.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government pays close attention to the developing human rights situation in China. We have not provided any direct support for human rights in the inner Mongolian Autonomous region. However, we did raise several cases of concern from Inner Mongolia directly with the Chinese authorities at the latest round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, which took place on 27 June in Beijing.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Government funding has been provided to Marie Stopes International for work in which countries outside the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID provided direct funding to Marie Stopes International (MSI) to the value of £19.64 million in 2012; £19.05 million in 2013; £41.07 million in 2014; £38.80 million in 2015 and £44.45 million in 2016.
This funding was used to support DFID programmes in the following countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papa New Guinea, The Philippines, Timor-leste, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
DFID support to these programmes enables women and girls to complete their education, take up better economic opportunities and have control over their own lives, therefore transforming lives, and creating more prosperous and stable societies.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote bilateral trade between the UK and Mongolia.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a team in Mongolia which focuses on the significant opportunities in the mining, infrastructure, financial and professional services and education sectors. In 2016 DIT increased its activity in the market, and its support for British companies, by designating the mining opportunity as a High Value Campaign with a potential export value of £350m over the next 5 years and signing a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry. UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency offers competitive finance and insurance to support UK exporters. UKEF has capacity to support UK exports to Mongolia and welcomes new applications for support.