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Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 May 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 May 2019. It was answered by Mark Field (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 May 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Kiribati: Diplomatic Relations

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of diplomatic relations with Kiribati.

Answer

The Republic of Kiribati remains a valued partner for the UK. We work closely, bilaterally and in multilateral fora.

I last met the President of Kiribati at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, 2018. We covered issues of mutual importance, particularly climate change and oceans. As my honourable friend will be aware, Kiribati is under significant pressure from the threat of rising sea levels. The UK’s Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme is funding a project to map Kiribati’s seabed to support new maritime infrastructure.

I have also worked with Kiribati at the United Nations General Assembly, the Pacific Island Forum and our recent UK and New Zealand Wilton Park Conference on Pacific resilience. As we continue to expand our diplomatic presence in the Pacific we expect our engagement to further increase.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
249866
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Diplomatic relations Kiribati
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk