§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Baroness Symons, had with the Turkish authorities during her trip to Istanbul. [56685]
§ Mr. FatchettDuring her trip to Turkey from 14 to 16 September, my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State met Ambassador Haktanir, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. She had wide ranging discussions and raised the case of Edgar Fernandes. She agreed that our High Commission in Valetta would press the Maltese authorities to process the extradition without undue delay. Ambassador Haktanir undertook to monitor the progress of the extradition papers and to chase this as necessary. In Istanbul she met Hasan Ozdemir, the Chief of Police in Istanbul and the Head of Interpol in Turkey, specifically to discuss the case of Edgar Fernandes. Mr. Ozdemir agreed that Turkish Interpol would pursue the paperwork needed to extradite the Egyptian suspect from Malta.