§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the specific duties notified to him of the nine persons in the Iraqi embassy described solely as attachés; and whether he will invite the ambassador to reduce this number.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo. No further information is notified to us as to the specific duties of these persons. It is for the sending state to determine the functions and rank of its 607W staff. However, the overall size of all missions, new appointments to them and the activities of members of their staff are kept under review.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the cultural links between the United Kingdom and Iraq; if he has any information as to why these necessitate the current presence of three assistant cultural counsellors in the Iraqi embassy; and whether he will invite the ambassador to reduce this number.
§ Mr. WhitneyA new bilateral cultural agreement was signed with Iraq in April 1983 and a regular programme of cultural exchanges is maintained. There is also a considerable number of Iraqi students in this country. It is for the Government of Iraq to decide, in the light of these factors, how many staff to allocate to the handling of cultural affairs. However, the overall size of all missions, new appointments to them and the activities of members of their staff are kept under review.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any information as to the reasons why the embassy of the Republic of Iraq has four assistant military attachés currently in post; and whether he will invite the ambassador to reduce this number in view of the state of war between Iraq and Iran.
§ Mr. WhitneyIt is for the sending state to determine the resources allocated to military affairs.
It is not our policy automatically to refuse to accept service attachés at the missions of countries engaged in hostilities in which the United Kingdom is not involved.