§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the current social unrest in Bolivia; how many UK citizens are known to remain in La Paz and El Alto; when(a) he and (b) members of his Department last had discussions with (i) Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, (ii) members of his Cabinet, (iii) representatives of his Government in Bolivia and representatives of his Government in the UK; what the central issues of the discussions were; and if he will make a statement. [133321]
§ Mr. RammellUp to 20 October we believe that those British visitors who wanted to leave La Paz and El Alto have now done so. We further estimate that there are 90 British citizens remaining in those cities. Our ambassador in Bolivia met President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada on 4 September and the Bolivian Foreign Minister on 16 October when he discussed the situation.
The most recent ministerial contact in the UK was when my hon. Friend the then Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (Mr. Wilson) met the Bolivian Energy Minister in January 2003. I most recently met the Bolivian ambassador on 6 October 2003.
Following the resignation of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada on 17 October the situation in Bolivia now appears to be rapidly returning to normal. We have kept in close touch, as this crisis has unfolded with our EU partners, particularly with regard to the safety of EU citizens in Bolivia. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as it develops over the next few days. We hope that Bolivia can now address its problems through peaceful dialogue and negotiation.