§ 26. Mr. Bottomleyasked the President of the Board of Trade the scope of the official talks which he proposes to conduct with the Egyptian Minister of Commerce when he leads the trade mission to this country later this month.
§ Mr. LowWe welcome the Egyptian trade mission, which is headed by the Minister of Commerce and arrived on 8th July. Its purpose is to foster the expansion of trade between our two countries, as was the purpose of the 1955 British trade mission to Egypt. It will be meeting businessmen concerned in trade with Egypt in London, Lancashire and Scotland. My right hon. Friend and I have had talks with the Mission and will be meeting it again before it leaves. It has also met my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
§ Mr. BottomleyWill the Minister of State consider suggesting to his right hon. Friend that it might be urged upon Egypt to lift the boycott upon trade in the Middle East as a means of extending trade further?
§ Viscount HinchingbrookeDoes my right hon. Friend propose to assist the Egyptians with their purchases in this country by releasing another quota of their sterling balances?
§ Mr. S. SilvermanWill the Parliamentary Secretary draw the attention of the Egyptian delegation to the fact that the free flow of trade between the two countries would be considerably assisted if the Egyptians refrained, in their trade with other countries, from imposing boycotts based upon racial and religious discrimination?
§ Mr. LowI understood that I had already answered that question, in reply to the right hon. Member for Rochester and Chatham (Mr. Bottomley).