§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current nature of Her Majesty's Government defence co-operation with Bahrain; and if he will make a statement. [740]
§ Dr. ReidBahrain hosts some of the RAF force involved in Operation JURAL, which monitors Iraqi compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 688. There are occasional deployments by other RAF aircraft and RN ships make regular visits to Bahrain. UK and Bahraini Defence Forces periodically exercise together and the UK provides some military training to Bahraini students. The defence relationship with Bahrain is underpinned by regular meetings of the UK-Bahrain Defence Committee.