Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the governments of the Gulf Co-operation Council on improving bilateral trade and security.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Our mutual security and prosperity are key parts of our bilateral relations with the Gulf states. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed security and bilateral trade with the governments of Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on his visit to the Gulf at the end of October.
In the last month, I have discussed these issues with Oman and Qatar, at our regular working group meetings; with the Bahraini Royal Court Minister for Follow Up Affairs, Sheikh Ahmed bin Attiyatallah al Khalifa; and with UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, at the Coalition Counter ISIL Strategic Communications meeting.
