The Commonwealth
(Fareham) (Con):
What steps his Department is taking to promote the Commonwealth.
[903128]
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (Boris Johnson): We will be having a summit of
the Commonwealth in April this year. As I am sure all Members
know, that will provide a fantastic opportunity for us to
showcase an institution that has stood the test of time. The
Commonwealth brings together 52 countries —in fact, 52 of the
fastest-growing economies in the world. It is a most remarkable
institution. The summit will of course be an opportunity to pay
tribute to Her Majesty the Queen for her long years of
unrelenting service.
: Does my right
hon. Friend agree that the summit taking place in April
represents a major opportunity to revitalise the Commonwealth as
an international trading alliance, and that India—with 55% of the
Commonwealth’s 2.3 billion population and 26% of its internal
trade—should play a major role in furthering that mission?
: My hon. Friend is
absolutely right. It is therefore a very good thing that Prime
Minister Modi will be coming. Of course, India will be playing a
major role in the events.
India: Diplomatic
Relations
(Harrow East) (Con):
What recent assessment he has made of the UK’s diplomatic
relations with India. [903139]
The Minister for Asia and the Pacific (Mark
Field): Our relations with India remain excellent. The
UK shares a long-standing and deep friendship with India covering
economic and commercial ties, defence and security, and the
living bridge of the people-to-people links, as I saw most
recently on my visit to New Delhi and Chennai three months ago.
: I thank the Minister
for his answer. This April, Prime Minister Modi will be here once
again. His last visit presented an opportunity for a joint
address to both Houses of Parliament and an opportunity to
interact with the Indian diaspora in this country. What plans are
there for similar arrangements to enable us to use this
opportunity once again?
: I very much agree with
my hon. Friend; there is no doubt that India will play a vital
role in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in
mid-April. We are obviously working closely with our Indian
colleagues to develop a full agenda of areas of mutual interest,
and I very much hope that we will be able to do something here in
Parliament along the lines that my hon. Friend has
suggested—although that is a matter for you, Mr Speaker—in the
community in London and indeed beyond, where there is a
significant number of members of the Indian diaspora.
(West
Dunbartonshire) (SNP): Given that the Republic of India,
a Commonwealth member, has now held my constituent from
Dumbarton, Jagtar Singh Johal, in custody without charge for two
months, will the Minister tell the House whether the Government’s
approach to large Commonwealth states is nothing short of a
Faustian pact in which we sacrifice our defence of due process to
arbitrary detention on the altar of free-marketeerism?
: I really do not think
that that is the case at all. The hon. Gentleman has been a
steadfast constituency MP on this particular matter. Members
might not know that he and I have met in the House of Commons,
and I very much respect the way in which he has worked hard on
behalf of the Johal family. Mr Johal’s brother is also one of his
constituents. I recognise that this is a difficult and
distressing time for Mr Johal and his family. Consular staff have
visited him on a number of occasions, most recently on 28
December, and I can confirm that there will be a further visit
this Thursday, 11 January. I will continue to meet members of the
family and the hon. Gentleman, having done so at the end of
November, and we are keeping him informed at every stage.
Topical
Questions
(Rochdale) (Lab): The
situation in Jammu and Kashmir is a human outrage on a regular
basis, and the tension between Pakistan and India is threatening
world peace. Will the Foreign Secretary use the opportunity of
the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to bring our good
friends Pakistan and India together and move a peace process
forward?
The Minister for Asia and the Pacific (Mark
Field): I very much hope CHOGM will provide that sort of
opportunity. Both India and Pakistan are long-standing friends of
the UK. On the issue of Kashmir, as the hon. Gentleman knows, we
do not intervene or interfere; it is for those two countries to
determine.
