HC Deb 21 February 1984 vol 54 cc476-80W
Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries with which the United Kingdom has full diplomatic relations.

Mr. Whitney

The United Kingdom has diplomatic relations with the following states:

  • The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
  • The Democratic Popular Republic of Algeria
  • The People's Republic of Angola Antigua and Barbuda
  • The Commonwealth of Australia
  • The Republic of Austria
  • The Commonwealth of the Bahamas
  • The State of Bahrain
  • The People's Republic of Bangladesh
  • Barbados
  • The Kingdom of Belgium
  • Belize
  • The People's Republic of Benin
  • The Republic of Bolivia
  • The Republic of Botswana
  • The Federative Republic of Brazil
  • The State of Brunei
  • The People's Republic of Bulgaria
  • The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
  • The Republic of Burundi
  • The United Republic of Cameroon
  • Canada
  • The Republic of Cape Verde
  • The Central African Republic
  • The Republic of Chad
  • The Republic of Chile
  • The People's Republic of China
  • The Republic of Colombia
  • The Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros
  • The People's Republic of the Congo
  • The Republic of Costa Rica
  • The Republic of Cuba
  • The Republic of Cyprus
  • The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
  • The Kingdom of Denmark
  • The Republic of Djibouti
  • The Commonwealth of Dominica
  • The Dominican Republic
  • The Republic of Ecuador
  • The Arab Republic of Egypt
  • The Republic of El Salvador
  • The Republic of Equatorial Guinea
  • Socialist Ethiopia
  • Fiji
  • The Republic of Finland
  • The Gabonese Republic
  • The Republic of The Gambia
  • The Federal Republic of Germany
  • The German Democratic Republic
  • The Republic of Ghana
  • The Hellenic Republic
  • Grenada
  • The People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea
  • The Republic of Guinea-Bissau
  • The Republic of Guyana
  • The Republic of Haiti
  • The Holy See
  • The Republic of Honduras
  • The Hungarian People's Republic
  • The Republic of Iceland
    • 477
  • The Republic of India
  • The Republic of Indonesia
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran
  • The Republic of Iraq
  • The Republic of Ireland
  • The State of Israel
  • The Italian Republic
  • The Republic of the Ivory Coast
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
  • The Republic of Kenya
  • Republic of Kiribati
  • The Republic of Korea
  • The State of Kuwait
  • The Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • The Lebanese Republic
  • The Kingdom of Lesotho
  • The Republic of Liberia
  • The Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
  • The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
  • The Democratic Republic of Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • The Republic of Maldives
  • The Republic of Mali
  • The Republic of Malta
  • The Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • The United Mexican States
  • The Mongolian People's Republic
  • The Kingdom of Morocco
  • The People's Republic of Mozambique
  • The Republic of Nauru
  • The Kingdom of Nepal
  • The Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • The Republic of Nicaragua
  • The Republic of Niger
  • The Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • The Kingdom of Norway
  • The Sultanate of Oman
  • The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
  • The Republic of Panama
  • The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
  • The Republic of Paraguay
  • The Republic of Peru
  • The Republic of the Philippines
  • The Polish People's Republic
  • The Portuguese Republic
  • The State of Qatar
  • The Socialist Republic of Romania
  • The Republic of Rwanda
  • The Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • The Republic of Senegal
  • The Republic of Seychelles
  • The Republic of Sierra Leone
  • The Republic of Singapore
  • Solomon Islands
  • The Somali Democratic Republic
  • The Republic of South Africa
  • The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • Spain
  • The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
  • The Democratic Republic of Sudan
  • The Republic of Suriname
  • The Kingdom of Swaziland
  • The Kingdom of Sweden
  • The Swiss Confederation
  • The Syrian Arab Republic
  • The United Republic of Tanzania
  • The Kingdom of Thailand
  • The Republic of Togo
  • The Kingdom of Tonga
  • The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
  • The Tunisian Republic
    • 478
  • The Republic of Turkey
  • Tuvalu
  • The Republic of Uganda
  • The United Arab Emirates
  • The United States of America
  • The Republic of Upper Volta
  • The Oriental Republic of Uruguay
  • The Republic of Vanuatu
  • The Republic of Venezuela
  • The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
  • The Independent State of Western Samoa
  • The Yemen Arab Republic (North)
  • The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South)
  • The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  • The Republic of Zaire
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries in which United Kingdom interests are represented by a third country.

Mr. Whitney

The United Kingdom is represented by third countries in Argentina, Guatemala and Iran.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries whose Governments have not been awarded diplomatic recognition by Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. Whitney

We accord recognition to states, rather than Governments. Of the states we recognise, we have no diplomatic relations with:

  • The People's Socialist Republic of Albania
  • The Argentine Republic
  • Cambodia
  • The Republic of Guatemala.

We also have no diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan, but maintain friendly contacts and conduct official business with its embassy in New Delhi.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Yugoslavia.

Mr. Rifkind

Our relations with Yugoslavia are close and substantial in all areas. We value and respect Yugoslavia's constructive role as an independent and nonaligned state. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister visited Yugoslavia twice in 1980 and in November 1983 we welcomed the President of the Federal Executive Council to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Mr. Luce

Our relations with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen have improved. The first British ambassador to Aden for eight years was appointed in February last year and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen appointed an ambassador to London in September.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Mr. Luce

We maintain normal diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Romania;

(2) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Poland;

(3) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Hungary;

(4) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and the German Democratic Republic;

(5) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Czechoslovakia;

(6) if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Bulgaria.

Mr. Rifkind

Our policy towards non-Soviet Warsaw pact countries is to acknowledge their diversity and the unique characteristics of each, and to seek to identify and build on points we have in common. The extent to which this will be possible will clearly depend on a variety of factors and will vary from country to country.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Mongolia.

Mr. Luce

We established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of Mongolia in 1963. The first resident British ambassador took up his post in 1966. Relations have been maintained at that level since then.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Laos.

Mr. Luce

We maintain normal diplomatic relations with Laos.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Cuba.

Mr. Whitney

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mr. Proctor) on 28 November 1983, at c. 382.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and China.

Mr. Luce

Our good relations with the People's Republic of China continue to develop well. There have been a number of ministerial visits in both directions in recent months, including that of the Secretary of State for Energy last November. Our trade has steadily increased. In 1983 British exports to China amounted to £160 million, compared with £103 million in 1982. Talks on the future of Hong Kong are continuing in Peking.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Cambodia.

Mr. Luce

We do not have dealings as a Government with any authorities in Cambodia.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Albania.

Mr. Rifkind

We have no diplomatic relations with Albania. In 1980 we formally notified the Albanian Government that we were ready to re-establish diplomatic relations without preconditions. Regrettably the Albanians have not accepted this offer which, as we have made clear, remains open.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and Afghanistan.

Mr. Whitney

We have no substantive dealings with the Karmal regime. Following the Soviet invasion in December 1979, we withdrew our ambassador in Kabul and suspended our aid programme to Afghanistan.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current relations between Her Majesty's Government and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Mr. Rifkind

We continue to pursue our policy of seeking a better relationship between East and West, and a broader and more substantial dialogue with the Soviet Union. It was in this spirit that my right hon. and learned Friend met Mr. Gromyko in Stockholm on 19 January and accompanied my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to Moscow for the funeral of President Andropov, following which she met General Secretary Chernenko. We hope that that meeting will lead to other meetings between members of our two Governments.