§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the purpose and outcome of the visit to Turkey made by the then Minister of State for Defence Procurement, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont).
§ Mr. FreemanThe visit was designed to promote co-operation between British and Turkish manufacturers in order to assist Turkey in the modernisation of its defence industrial capability. The Turkish Government were assured of the British Government's support for this objective while the 20 or so British defence companies who took part were fully briefed on the opportunities in that country by the Turkish authorities and met a large number of potential industrial partners. I believe the visit was considered a valuable first step by all those who took part.