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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure UK embassies, high commissions and consulates are promoting trade with the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

Over the past three years we have put commercial and economic diplomacy at the heart of the FCO’s agenda
We are committed to supporting British business and boosting UK trade as set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Charter for Business and UKTI’s Strategy "Britain Open for Business: the Next Phase".

We have opened new missions and reinforced our economic diplomacy staff in many of the fastest growing markets in the world. We have taken steps to strengthen commercial skills at all levels within our Embassies. Ambassadors and their teams across our network are lobbying hard to open markets, promote free trade, support pro-growth policies and counter risks to economic stability. This approach lies at the heart of our G8 agenda on tax, trade and transparency and underpins our on-going work to deliver an ambitious EU-US trade deal.

With UKTI we are delivering a number of ambitious initiatives across the globe to promote trade and investment and boost jobs and growth. The High Value Opportunities programme aims to assist UK businesses to secure £10billion of business in key emerging markets. The Prime Minister has appointed sixteen Trade Envoys who are working with our Embassies and High Commissions to champion opportunities for British business and lobby to improve the business environment and resolve market access issues.

Our Posts are also promoting Britain through the "Great" campaign – a visually powerful campaign that is making real strides in promoting the UK as a modern and innovative country in which to invest and with which do business. Ministers have been urged to travel extensively to support this. We are focusing our efforts on both established markets and those emerging markets where there is high potential for growth in the future.

The FCO and UKTI are also committed to implementing the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee review: Supporting British Exporters Overseas (see Treasury Minute CM 8847 – 37th Report), a key component in the Government’s ambition to achieve £1 trillion of exports annually by 2020. We have committed to an economic "roadmap" to the £1 trillion target, closer joint working on our trade and investment strategy and on planning across government, and work to address visa barriers to trade and investment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Icelandic counterpart on strengthening UK-Icelandic business relations.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) met both the Icelandic Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, and Foreign Minister, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, in London in September and November 2013 respectively. They discussed a range of topics, including the increasingly strong and productive trade relationship between the UK and Iceland.

The UK remains committed to a robust commercial relationship with Iceland, and there are many lucrative areas of trade and investment that we continue to cooperate on closely, such as fish-processing in Humberside and the proposed IceLink electricity interconnector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to take steps against Spain other than to appeals to the Government should incursions on the UK border continue.

Mr David Lidington

We will continue to uphold British sovereignty by challenging and protesting each and every unlawful incursion into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. We will also continue to lodge formal diplomatic protests about delays at the border.

In addition to these formal measures, we will continue to make representations to the Spanish government at the highest level, making clear the damage that unlawful incursions and disproportionate measures at the border cause to our bilateral relationship.

The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has spoken twice to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, about delays at the border. As a result of those conversations, the Commission sent a monitoring mission to the border and we now expect the Commission to insist that Spain implements the recommendations it received on improving the flow of people and traffic.

We do not rule out further measures. However, it is important that we act in ways that do not make life still more difficult for businesses and ordinary citizens in Gibraltar. We are continuing to seek a way forward on the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) proposal for ad hoc talks as the best means of discussing and resolving issues of concern.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives from the European Commission on European sanctions on Russia.

Mr David Lidington

As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) told the House on 8 April, we are gravely concerned about the situation in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine. We have consistently condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea including in public statements, international fora, and in bilateral contacts with the Russian Federation.

The UK has played a key role in ensuring a tough and united response from the international community. We have reviewed all bilateral engagement with Russia and have frozen military cooperation, refused export licence requests which may be used by the Russian military, and postponed a number of planned Ministerial Summits. Along with other G7 members, the UK has withdrawn participation in the planned G8 Summit in Sochi in June, and will instead take part in a G7 meeting in Brussels.

The Foreign Secretary has taken part in a number of discussions on sanctions at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in which the European Commission has also been involved. On 14 April, the FAC agreed to expand the second tier of sanctions and to add further names to the list of individuals subject to those sanctions. The FAC agreed on the urgency of completing work on a possible third tier of more far reaching sanctions, which might be implemented in the absence of meaningful diplomatic engagement by Russia or further provocation against Ukraine. The European Commission was tasked to identify such economic measures.

As the Foreign Secretary has made clear to the Russian Foreign Minister, the EU remains prepared to impose additional sanctions should that become necessary. Russia should be clear that any deliberate escalation of this crisis may bring serious political and economic consequences.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the situation in Ukraine.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed the situation in Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on 23 April. The Foreign Secretary pressed for the immediate implementation of the 17 April Geneva agreement. He urged Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of international sanctions against Russia.

Mr David Lidington

The effect of sanctions so far imposed by the EU is on individuals from Crimea and Russia most closely involved in violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The EU has been clear that it would move to impose a package of wider economic sanctions if there is a lack of progress on the diplomatic front and further moves by Russia against Ukraine. Such measures would have consequences for the UK’s commercial relationship with Russia, and for those of other EU Member States, but the clear aim would be to demonstrate to Russia that there are wider consequences for its actions in Ukraine, while minimising the impact on the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in North Korea on freedom of religion.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has never met his Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) counterpart.

However, the UK takes every opportunity to raise with the DPRK authorities our concerns about their appalling human rights record, not least with regard to freedom of religion or belief. The British Embassy in Pyongyang last raised our concerns with the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2013. A senior official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised this issue with the North Korean Embassy in February 2014.

We have also raised concerns specifically about recent reports that 33 people have been sentenced to death for alleged contact with Kim Jung-wook (aka Kim Jong-uk), a South Korean arrested by the DPRK authorities last year on suspicion of trying to establish underground churches. We have requested official confirmation of what has happened to the individuals concerned and called on the DPRK to respect the provision in its constitution guaranteeing “freedom of belief in religion”. We also played a leading role in securing a strong resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, calling for accountability for the range of human rights violations documented in the DPRK.

The annual FCO Human rights report, published on 10 April 2014 includes the DPRK as a country of concern. The full report can be found at http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk

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