Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 6 April 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Topical Questions

Question: Following on from the question by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Meg Munn) about business in Iraq, is the Foreign Secretary aware that businesses that I speak to feel that the British Government are not supporting them adequately? Given that Iraq has the world's second largest oil supply and that there is a desperate need to rebuild its infrastructure after the war, what more can he do to build ties with the incoming Iraqi Administration so that British business can do more business with Iraq?

Answer: This is the only European country that has held an Iraq investment conference and we are committed to UK Trade and Investment and other embassy functions that support commercial diplomacy. The hon. Gentleman's question would be better if he could give me any details of companies that he says have been frustrated. We would be very happy to work with them, because I assure him that many other companies are delighted rather than frustrated.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 508 c817-8
Session: 2009-10
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Iraq Politics and government Public expenditure Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Link: View this Topical question on www.publications.parliament.uk