§ Norman BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list those persons who, since 1 May 1997, have acted as a non-official special envoy on his behalf in countries outside the UK. [77684]
§ The Prime MinisterAs has been the practice for previous Administrations, if it is helpful to the UK Government individuals may be asked to carry messages or undertake particular tasks on behalf of the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary. We do not maintain a record of such occasions.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the visits undertaken since 11 March by Lord Levy in his capacity as special envoy, giving in each case the dates of the visit, the persons met, and the purpose of the visit. [77800]
§ The Prime MinisterIn his capacity as the Prime Minister's envoy, Lord Levy has travelled overseas to exchange views on the Middle East peace process with a range of contacts since 11 March.
Lord Levy visited Israel between 22 and 24 March and 15 and 17 July. He met Israeli contacts including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Defence Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, President Moshe Katsav, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Haim Ramon, and Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg. Lord Levy also met US Envoy General Anthony Zinni and US State Department Senior Advisor for Israeli-Arab Negotiations Aaron Miller while he was in Israel in March.
Meetings also took place on both of these visits with Palestinian Authority leadership including President Yasser Arafat, Sa'eb Erekat, Mohammed Rashid, Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub.
Between 7 and 9 July Lord Levy visited Morocco and met King Mohammed VI. He also met King Mohammed's advisor Andre Azoulay, Foreign Minister Mohammed Benaissa, and Deputy Foreign Minister Taib Fassi-Fehri.
On 17 and 18 July Lord Levy visited Egypt. He met President Mubarek, Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa and Presidential Advisor Dr. Osama al-Baz.