§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met representatives from the Lebanon; when a minister next plans to visit that country; and if he will make a statement. [57851]
§ Mr. BradshawMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will meet the Lebanese Ambassador, His Excellency Jihad Mortada, at a lunch they are attending on 22 May hosted by the Council of Arab Ambassadors. The Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri's planned visit to the UK was postponed because of The Queen Mother's funeral. We hope that the visit will be reinstated soon.
I visited Lebanon on 24 July 2001 and had a number of meetings, including with the Prime Minister, the President (Emile Lahoud) and the Speaker of Parliament (Nabi Berri). I also met the Lebanese Minister responsible for Public Works and Transport (Muhammad Najib Miqati) in London on 5 April.
There are no current plans for Ministers to visit Lebanon.