Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 20 November 2025.
Tracy Gilbert
Labour, Edinburgh North and Leith
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help establish diplomatic relations with Palestine.
Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has exchanged letters with Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, formally establishing diplomatic relations with Palestine.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
