Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs written question – answered at on 23 February 2010.
Derek Conway
Independent, Old Bexley and Sidcup
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) his Algerian counterpart and (b) the Polisario on a census to count and register the Sahrawi refugee population in the Tindouf camps; and if he will make a statement.
Ivan Lewis
Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with either his Algerian counterpart or the Polisario about a census to record the population of the Tindouf camps. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Officials in Algiers and London have discussed this topic with the Polisario as part of their regular dialogue with all parties to the Western Sahara dispute.
My hon. Friend Bill Rammell, then Minister responsible for North Africa, did discuss UN led efforts to resolve the dispute over Western Sahara with Abdelqader Mesahel, Algerian Minister responsible for Maghreb Affairs, during the annual UK-Algeria political dialogue in December 2008. The Western Sahara dispute is again on the agenda for the next round of the UK-Algeria political dialogue, scheduled for
Yes2 people think so
No3 people think not
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