Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has publicly welcomed President Hadi's inauguration on Saturday 25 February. After more than a year of political uncertainty and instability, both the Foreign Secretary and I are committed to putting our bilateral relationship back on a normal footing. On Monday 5 March I travelled to Yemen and congratulated President Hadi in person on his election. I emphasised the UK's commitment to supporting Yemen through its ongoing transition and our intention to remain a close partner to Yemen. Progress in Yemen since the signing of the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative in November last year has been rapid and productive, but there remain very apparent challenges to be faced. We look forward to working closely with President Hadi and offering him our full support.
