PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Middle East: Asylum (4 September 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with their counterparts in (i) the United Arab Emirates, (ii) Saudi Arabia, (iii) Kuwait and (iv) Qatar to encourage each of those countries to accept a greater number of Syrian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Gareth Thomas (Labour)

The UK actively engages and collaborates with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council on humanitarian and development assistance, and the Gulf States continue to contribute generously to humanitarian support for the Syria crisis. Kuwait is the 3rd largest bilateral donor globally, Saudi Arabia is 5th, the UAE 6th and Qatar 10th (the UK is 2nd). Contributions from these four Gulf states to UN appeals alone amount to over $2.5bn. Kuwait chairs the Top Donor Group and has hosted three pledging conferences. The Gulf States are also contributing through regional charities. For example, the UAE funds the Emirates Jordan camp which houses over 6000 refugees.

I also discussed the issue with my Emirate counterpart, Dr Anwar Gargash, during the UK-UAE taskforce which I attended in Abu Dhabi last week.

Answered by:
Mr Tobias Ellwood (Conservative)
9 September 2015