§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the official visits to Saudi Arabia made by Ministers in his Department since May 1979, stating in each case the dates and purpose of the visit. [19559]
§ Mr. HanleyAccording to our records, the following visits to Saudi Arabia were made by FCO Ministers between 1984 and 1997:
- Secretary of State (Lord Howe), January 1984
- Minister of State (Mr. Luce), March 1985
- Secretary of State (Lord Howe), January 1986
- Minister of State (Mr. Renton), February 1987
- Minister of State (Mr. Mellor), December 1987
- Minister of State (Mr. Waldergrave), October 1988
- Secretary of State (Lord Howe), January 1989
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), May/June 1990
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), September 1990
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), February 1991
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), May 1991
- Minister of State (Mr. Hogg), February 1992
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), May 1992
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), September 1993
- Minister of State (Mr. Hogg), May 1994
- Secretary of State (Mr. Hurd), October 1994
- Secretary of State (Mr. Rifkind), November 1995
- Secretary of State (Mr. Rifkind), July 1996
- Minister of State (Mr. Hanley), October 1996
The purpose of these visits was the promotion of bilateral relations and co-operation with Saudi Arabia. The Minister of State's visit in May 1994 also included participation in the EU/Gulf Co-operation Council ministerial meeting.
Records of ministerial visits prior to 1984 are in this Department's archives, and it would incur disproportionate cost to retrieve them.
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