Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the full opening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza. [107449]

Alistair Burt MP; Minister of State: During his visit to Egypt in May 2011, my the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the relaxation of the Rafah crossing controls with the then Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil al-Arabi. Following these discussions, the UK welcomed the decision by Egypt on 27 May 2011 to partially ease restrictions on the movement of people through the Rafah crossing. However, Rafah is not suitable for commercial goods or large amounts of humanitarian aid.

We are clear that the key to the economic regeneration of Gaza is easing of restrictions at the Israeli crossings into Gaza, including for exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.