§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions when he or his predecessors have met the Syrian Foreign Minister since 1979; and if he will make a statement on the most recent meeting.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen), the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met the Syrian Foreign Minister in London in March 1979. As Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met the Syrian Foreign Minister in Damascus in October 1979 and in London in September 1981 and July 1982. My noble Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Pym, met the Syrian Foreign Minister in London in September 1982 and in Damascus in October 1982. My right hon. and learned Friend for Surrey, East (Sir G. Howe), the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, had meetings with the Syrian Foreign Minister in New York in September 1983, in Damascus in January 1984, again in New York in September 1984 and lastly in London in March 1986.
The meeting that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had with Mr. Shara' on 6 February provided the first opportunity since the resumption of diplomatic relations with Syria to discuss regional and bilateral matters at ministerial level. It was timely and valuable.