The Earl of Carlisleasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Secretary of State for Defence postponed his visit to Latvia scheduled for November 1997 and sent the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his place; and when the Secretary of State will visit the Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. [HL2511]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)Her Majesty's Government attach great importance to stability and security in the Baltic states. The United Kingdom enjoys a warm defence relationship with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Regrettably, it proved necessary for my right honourable friend the Secretary of State to postpone his proposed visit to the Baltic states last November owing to pressing Strategic Defence Review business. In his absence, the visit of my honourable friend the Under-Secretary of State reinforced our commitment to developing our bilateral defence relationships and continuing our contributions to the co-ordinated multilateral defence projects. My right honourable friend hopes to visit the Baltic states when his schedule allows.