§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will(a) list the countries from which military officers have visited Northern Ireland since 1 May 1997, (b) set out the purpose of each visit, (c) set out the nature of the related training programme, (d) indicate which delegations have participated in (i) military and (ii) RUC patrols and (e) indicate which delegations have visited surveillance and observation posts in South Armagh. [89912]
§ Mr. Doug Henderson[holding answer 12 July 1999]: The information requested is as follows:
The New Zealand Defence Attache to London accompanied the Chief of Staff of the General Staff on his St. Patrick's Day visit to Omagh and Ballykelly on 17 March 1998.
Military officers from the following countries visited the Army in Northern Ireland on 1 April 1998 as part of a visit by the Royal College of Defence Studies:
- Colonel, Omani Ministry of Defence
- Colonel, Spanish Air Force
- Colonel, French Gendarmerie
- Colonel, Hellenic Army
- Colonel, Czech Air Force
- Colonel, US Air Force.
Two Russian officers carried out an Arms Control Inspection in Northern Ireland from 17–24 October 1998. Military officers from the following countries visited the Army in Northern Ireland on 24 March 1999 as part of a visit by the Royal College of Defence Studies:
- Air Commodore, Omani Air Force
- Colonel, Royal Netherlands Army
- Captain, Italian Navy
- Lieutenant Colonel, Polish Army
- Colonel, New Zealand Army
- Colonel, US Marine Corps.
Twelve Czech officers carried out an Arms Control Inspection in Northern Ireland from 21–24 April 1999.
None of the visitors listed participated in military or RUC patrols or visited surveillance and observation posts in South Armagh.