- Middle East Minister Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon visits
Bahrain and Qatar for discussions on the crisis in Israel and
Gaza.
- In a speech to senior decision makers from the region, Lord
Ahmad will reiterate urgent calls for sustained humanitarian
pauses and discuss longer term routes to end hostilities and
bring about a two-state solution.
- Visit follows UK commitment of an additional £30 million in
humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Ahmad is travelling to
Bahrain and Qatar for high-level talks on the crisis in Israel
and Gaza.
In Bahrain, the Minister will give a speech at the Manama
Dialogue, a forum of senior decision makers from the Middle East.
He will set out the UK’s commitment to securing sustained
humanitarian pauses to allow the flow of significantly more
life-saving aid into Gaza and to preventing the crisis from
spreading across the region.
He will stress the UK’s position that Israel has a right to
defend itself but their actions must comply with international
humanitarian law, and discuss ways to bring about long-term
regional stability and a viable two-state solution. The Minister
will also meet with Middle East counterparts, including the
Secretary General of the Arab League.
In Qatar the Minister will have various bilateral meetings,
including with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, HE
Mohammed Al Khulaifi and with Minister of Labour, HE Dr Ali bin
Samikh Al Marri. He will thank Qatar for their role in
negotiations to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in
Gaza.
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for Middle
East, North Africa, South Asia, United Nations and the
Commonwealth said:
Together with our partners in the Middle East, the UK is working
to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza and prevent the
crisis from spreading across the West Bank and the wider region.
This includes the conditions to allow for safe, unhindered and
sustainable access of humanitarian aid.
I will also be discussing the prospects of a renewed effort
towards delivering on the reality of a two-state solution which
delivers peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.
The visit to Bahrain and Qatar follows Lord Ahmad’s recent visits
to Israel, the West Bank and Morocco and Minister of State for
Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell’s visit to Cairo earlier
this week. This is in addition to travel to the region by the
Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary.
These diplomatic efforts have centred on calls for access to
lifesaving aid for Gaza, the return of British nationals and the
prevention of dangerous regional escalation.
The UK recently allocated £30 million in additional aid for the
Occupied Palestinian Territories – more than doubling the
existing aid commitment for this year [£27m]. This will allow
trusted partners, including the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) and others, to provide Palestinians with essential
humanitarian relief items and services such as food, water and
shelter.
Lord Ahmad will also use to visit the Qatar to discuss bilateral
matters. This includes overseeing the signing of the Labour
Rights Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), providing a framework
for further reform of labour rights in Qatar and building on
progress made around the recent World Cup.
The Minister will also open the UK Pavilion at the International
Horticultural Exposition in Doha. The exposition aims to promote
horticultural solutions to the challenges of climate change and
water scarcity.
