HC Deb 11 November 1999 vol 337 cc840-1W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times Ministers in his Department met members and officials of the United States Government between 1 May 1997 and 31 December 1997; and if he will list the(a) dates, (b) locations, (c) Ministers involved and (d) names of the US members and officials at each meeting. [93947]

Mr. Robin Cook

Foreign Office Ministers have frequent contact with members of the US Administration in the United States, in the UK and elsewhere overseas. Between 1 May 1997 and 31 December 1997, the FCO Ministers listed have visited the United States and have had bilateral meetings with their approximate US counterparts as follows:

Ministers in his Department have met members and officials of the US Government since 2 March; and if he will list the (a) dates, (b) locations, (c) Ministers involved and (d) names of the US members and officials at each meeting. [93946]

Mr. Robin Cook

Foreign Office Ministers have frequent contact with members of the US Administration in the United States, in the UK and elsewhere overseas. Since 2 March, the FCO Ministers listed have visited the United States and have had bilateral meetings with their approximate US counterparts as follows:

Dates Location Minister US counterpart
24–25 March Washington Baroness Symons Paul Virtue, General Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service
Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State
Stuart Eizenstat, Under Secretary for Economics, Agriculture and Business Affairs, State Department
Marc Grossman, Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, State Department
Peter Romero, Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, State Department
Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, State Department
22–26 April Washington Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State
20–21 May Washington Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State
Sandy Berger, National Security Adviser
James Rubin, Spokesman, State Department
Tony Wayne, Assistant Secretary for European Affairs
7–8 July Washington Mr. Hoon Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, State Department
Ken Lieberthal, Senior Director for Asian Affairs, NSC
Stanley Roth, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, State Department
Dennis Ross, Special Middle East Co-ordinator, State Department
Bruce Riedel, Senior Director for Near East and South Asia Affairs, State Department
Karl Inderfurth, Assistant Secretary for South Asia Affairs, State Department
Martin Indyk, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, State Department
4–6 October Washington Baroness Scotland Mark Schneider, Assistant Administrator, US Administration for International Development
Jim Gadsden, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Canadian Affairs, State Department
Bryan Samuel, Acting Assistant Secretary for Economics, Business and Agricultural Affairs, State Department
Peter Romero, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, State Department
Gary Vest, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security
Arturo Valenzuela, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter American Affairs, NSC
Governor Buddy Mackay, President's Special Envoy for the Americas, NSC

I also met Mrs. Albright on a number of other occasions in the UK and in the margins of other international meetings, including the UN General Assembly in New York in September and receiving her as my guest at Chevening on 6 March.

Unfortunately, the information the hon. Member requires on meetings which have taken place in the UK and third countries is not held centrally, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.