§ Mr. Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of steps taken by Saudi Arabia to combat al-Qaeda operations. [143550]
§ Mr. Rammell:The Government of Saudi Arabia have taken significant steps to combat al-Qaeda-related terrorism in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks and in response to increased terrorist activity in Saudi Arabia. It has ratified six of the 12 International Conventions on terrorism; and has signed, but not yet ratified, the Convention on the financing of terrorism. It publicly condemned the 11 September attacks and has made clear repeatedly its condemnation of all terrorism.
Over the past year, the Saudi authorities have adopted wide-ranging measures against terrorism. They have publicly identified wanted terrorist suspects, made many arrests, seized significant caches of terrorist weapons and explosives, sought to counter the ideology underpinning the terrorists' activities, enhanced the security presence in public places, including around residential compounds, and taken measures to counter the flow of terrorist funding. We are co-operating closely with the Saudi authorities, as is the US and other international partners.
Nevertheless, the terrorist attacks of 12 May and 9 November highlight the very real threat of terrorism in Saudi Arabia. We continue to believe terrorists are planning further attacks in Saudi Arabia. Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice makes this assessment clear.