§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the British Armed Forces are stationed in Macedonia; what activities they are involved in; and if he will make a statement; [40611]
(2) how much longer he expects there to be a UK military presence in Macedonia; and if he will make a statement. [40610]
§ Mr. IngramAt any one time there are approximately 12 UK Armed Forces personnel working in Macedonia as part of the headquarters of NATO's Task Force Fox and in support of KFOR. Some may be allocated to both. So long as there is a requirement for these or successor forces provided by NATO, we expect to contribute a number of British Armed Forces personnel to them.
In addition, three UK Armed Forces Personnel are providing advice to the Macedonian Ministry of Defence as part of a bilateral Outreach programme; we expect them to remain until the programme is complete.
One UK Army officer has been seconded to the British Embassy in Skopje as Defence Attaché