HC Deb 18 February 1998 vol 306 cc691-2W
Mr. Maclean

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests for meetings he has received since 1 May 1997 from(a) foreign ambassadors and high commissioners and (b) British ambassadors and high commissioners; how many of these respectively he has turned down; and if he will name the countries affected in each case. [26856]

Mr. Robin Cook

[holding answer 2 February 1998]: No central record is kept of requests for these meetings, whether granted or refused. Since 2 May, I have met the following Ambassadors and High Commissioners:

  • May
    • The Ambassadors of the United States, Russia, Ireland and Japan.
  • June
    • The Ambassadors of Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Finland, Belgium and Oman.
    • The High Commissioners of Australia and Cyprus.
    692
  • July
    • The Ambassadors of the Yemen and Qatar.
  • September
    • The Ambassadors of the United States, Russia, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy and Austria.
  • October
    • The Ambassadors of Germany, Russia and Belgium.
    • The High Commissioners of Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

November The Ambassadors of Japan, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Lebanon, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Switzerland and Sweden. The High Commissioners of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

December The Ambassadors of Austria, Germany, Finland, Portugal, France, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States and Albania.

January

  • The Ambassadors of China and Bahrain.
  • The High Commissioner of Australia.

February

  • The Ambassadors of Norway and Germany.