Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian government on tackling the spread of Daesh in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We regularly hold discussions with Saudi Arabia about the threat from Daesh. Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of international efforts to defeat Daesh and was one of the first countries to participate in air strikes against Daesh in Syria. The King and the religious establishment continue clearly and publicly to condemn Daesh and its poisonous ideology, and to emphasise that Daesh do not in any way represent the teachings of Islamic faith.

The Saudi Arabian Government is working to reduce the threat that religious extremists pose in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. It has a comprehensive set of laws in place to prevent terrorist financing, which it enforces vigorously. We welcome the recent announcement of the creation of the Islamic Military Coalition which, among other things, aims to help Islamic countries to counter the threat from terrorism. Regional and Arab countries are best placed to tackle extremism and confront Daesh on the ground.