I was proud to lead the first bilateral delegation to Hungary in 10 years, from the 25-27 November 2024, especially in light of our Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, meeting with Prime Minister Orban at the European Political Community summit in Budapest just a couple of weeks earlier. The delegation was small but very […]
A small but perfectly formed delegation of myself, John Whittingdale MP, Baroness Ros Scott, John Slinger MP and Joe Perry (IPU) travelled to Latvia between Sunday 15 and Wednesday 18 September for a short but intensive programme. That this was only the second outward IPU delegation of the new Parliament underlines the point made many […]
This first BGIPU outward visit of the new Parliament saw a small, balanced group of four parliamentarians plus the wonderful Mathilde Ollivo of the BGIPU travel to Berlin for a series of high-level meetings at the Bundestag as well as visits to the Bundesrat, British Embassy and British Council. Given that the Prime Minister and […]
From 27 – 31 May 2024, a BGIPU delegation of UK Members of Parliament visited Colombia to strengthen bilateral Parliamentary links. The delegation included Tim Loughton MP, Baroness Blower, Patrick Grady MP and Baroness Northover, and was supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU Secretariat. The visit started days after the General Election was called, […]
A BGIPU delegation visited to Oman between 24 and 29 February 2023. The delegation comprised a cross party group of parliamentarians led by Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP and including Khalid Mahmood MP, Baroness Jolly, Lord Cromwell, Jo Gideon MP and supported by Mathilde Ollivo, BGIPU Secretariat. The first engagement was a briefing from HM […]
Across the week commencing 26 February, a BGIPU delegation of UK Members of Parliament visited Albania to strengthen bilateral Parliamentary links. Consisting of Matthew Offord (Conservative), Tan Dhesi (Labour), Baroness Blackstone (Labour), and Baroness Bonham-Carter (Liberal Democrat), and supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU, the delegation sought to promote greater cooperation between the Government […]
From 12 to 15 February 2024, I led a delegation of six members to Armenia. I previously led a BGIPU delegation there exactly ten years before and Jessica Morden MP had visited last year with the APPG. For the other members, Judith Cummins MP, Dr Rupa Huq MP, Carol Monaghan MP and Lord McInnes, it […]
This was my first visit to Costa Rica and Panama, as part of a delegation alongside seasoned experts in the region, Baroness Hooper and Lord Mountevans. The visit was immensely informative and was arranged impeccably by the hosts and our Embassies in both countries, with the advantage too that for most of the time in […]
No visit to Panama would be complete without a look at the Canal Locks in action. We met with the President of the Canal Authority, Aristedes Royo Sanchez, who is a former President of Panama and father of the current Ambassador to London, Natalia Royo, and Victor Vial, the VP for Finance. The Canal is […]
Unusually and unexpectedly our delegation consisted of three Peers, Baroness Northover, Lord Mountevans and myself, supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU Secretariat. The original delegation had been carefully selected to reflect balance and ongoing interest in the Region. This was scuppered by the House of Commons Whips who, it appears, no longer accept the […]
