Written question asked by John Cummings (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 April 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 23 April 2009. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 May 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Colombia

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department met representatives of the Colombian Government during 2008.

Answer: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers had meetings or discussions with representatives of the Colombian Government, including President Uribe, Vice President Santos, Foreign Minister Bermudez and Defence Minister Santos on the following dates in 2008:"20 February""6 March""11 March""16 May""21 May""9 October""16 October""5 November""19 November"In addition, FCO ministers are in regular contact with the Colombian ambassador to the UK.Sir Peter Ricketts, Permanent Under Secretary of State for the FCO, visited Colombia 17-18 December 2008, during which he met several representatives of the Colombian Government including Foreign Minister Bermudez and Defence Minister Santos.Other FCO officials, including in Bogota, London and in multilateral Posts, hold regular meetings with Colombian Government officials as part of their regular official duties. As this information is not held centrally, it would not be possible to provide a comprehensive list of such meetings without incurring disproportionate cost.

Secondary information