Written question asked by Dai Davies (Independent (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 9 September 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 16 September 2009. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Lockerbie: Bombings

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions Ministers and officials from his Department have had with their Libyan counterparts since March 2004.

Answer: Since 2004 there have been a number of ministerial visits to Libya made by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers: two in 2004, one in 2005, two in 2006, one in 2007, one in 2008 and two in 2009. During the same period, Ministers from Libya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs have visited the UK for meetings with their UK counterparts on a number of occasions: one in 2004, three in 2008 and six in 2009.Ministerial discussions since 2004 have covered the full range of UK-Libyan bilateral relations, including co-operation in the fields of security, trade, at UN and with the African Union: as well as, visas, consular matters and the safety, security and wellbeing of FCO officials and their families living and working in Tripoli.There is no central record of the number of official overseas visits made by FCO officials to Libya. However officials from various parts of the FCO, both in the UK and overseas, visit Libya regularly in the course of their official duties. Senior officials hold an annual meeting with Libyan Government officials which alternates between Tripoli and London. No senior officials meeting has taken place in 2009. Issues discussed since 2004 covered the full range of UK-Libyan bilateral relations.

Secondary information