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 […]
A BGIPU delegation visited Saudi Arabia from 24 to 30 September, the first visit of this kind in several years. The delegation was led by Mark Menzies MP, with Matthew Offord MP, Wayne David MP, Shailesh Vara MP, Baroness Hooper and Baroness Northover. Saudi Arabia is a country at a key point in its history, […]
From 25 to 29 September, I had the privilege to lead BGIPU’s first ever bilateral delegation to Uzbekistan. I was joined by BGIPU Vice Chair Alex Sobel, Catherine West, Anna McMorrin, BGIPU Executive Committee member Lord Cromwell and Lord Hussain, and assisting us from the Secretariat were Dominique Rees and Henry Collison. Despite arriving in […]
A BGIPU delegation visited Serbia from the 9 to 14 July 2023. The delegation was led by Jackie Doyle-Price MP who was joined by Wayne David MP, Matthew Offord MP, Tan Dhesi MP and Lord Rennard. The group visited Belgrade and Novi Sad and the visit came shortly after a visit to Parliament by Serbian […]
On 25 March, BGIPU sent a delegation of six parliamentarians to Brazil on a bilateral visit aimed at developing our bilateral relationship and informing us about the current issues in Brazil. The delegation was led by the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, and included Fabian Hamilton MP, Kim Johnson MP, Jason McCartney MP, Mark Pawsey […]
The overall impression of the visit was – for me – the dynamism and liveliness of Brazilian politics and democracy. After a challenging few years under its previous political leadership, Brazil seems to have bounced back with its strong democratic institutions and constitution. Few, it would seem, wanted a return to the dark days of […]
The 20-26 November 2022 BGIPU visit to Jordan was very successful. The visit was led by Rt Hon Shailesh Vara MP and comprised Matthew Offord MP, Bambos Charalambous MP, Martin Vickers MP, Baroness Ann Taylor of Bolton and Baroness Shaista Gohir. It was the first visit by a British delegation for a number of years […]
