§ 3. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about trade between Britain and Israel. [18689]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Phillip Oppenheim)I am pleased to report that trade relations between Britain and Israel have never been better.
Bilateral trade last year reached £1.8 billion. United Kingdom visible exports in 1995 were £1.1 billion—almost exactly double the figure five years ago.
In December 1995, the first meeting of the Israel-Britain Business Council was opened in London by my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade and the Israeli Minister of Industry and Trade. The council, established last March by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister during his visit to Israel, is a new bilateral private sector forum to expand commercial links of all types between Britain and Israel.
§ Mr. MarshallDoes my hon. Friend agree that trade between Britain and Israel is inevitably linked to the success of the peace process? Does he also agree that the conference of world leaders discussing anti-terrorism in Egypt today will play an important role in the success of the peace process? Will my hon. Friend therefore condemn the failure of the leaders of Syria to attend that conference?
§ Mr. OppenheimWe all particularly condemn the extreme cowardice of terrorism against civilians. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is today attending the Sharm el-Sheikh conference, which is intended to put the peace process back on track. We can all agree that it is a great shame that Syria, which is a major player in the region, is not at the conference. Trade and peace go hand 967 in hand, and open and interdependent trading relations make it less likely that countries will go to war. That is why the growing trade relations between Israel and other Arab states are greatly to be welcomed.