§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with King Abdullah of Jordan during his recent visit on(a) the middle east peace process, (b) terrorists living in Britain, (c) terrorism outside Britain, (d) Iraqi sanctions and (e) the present economic situation in Jordan. [15610]
184W
§ Mr. BradshawThe Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had talks with King Abdullah in London on 8 November. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary thanked the King for his leadership and determination in supporting the coalition against terrorism, agreed on the need to put the best humanitarian effort into dealing with the problems of displaced people and refugees and discussed how the international community could help reconstruct Afghanistan post-conflict. King Abdullah thanked the Prime Minister for his efforts during his travels throughout the middle east and the Islamic world to clarify the West's position that this is not a struggle between the West and Islam.
The King and Prime Minister agreed the importance of moving forward the Middle East Peace process as quickly as possible. The Prime Minister praised King Abdullah's record of pushing for progress in that area. The King, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary discussed the need to control Iraq's military capabilities, while minimising the effects on Iraqi citizens. They also discussed ways in which the UK could help Jordan to achieve its economic objectives through support of King Abdullah's economic reform programme and encouragement of inward investment. There was no discussion on the issue of terrorists in the UK.