1. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that British manufacturers who supplied goods to Turkey as long ago as 1952 and registered their transactions with the Central Bank in March, 1953, have not yet been paid; and what steps he will take to negotiate a new agreement with the Turkish authorities so as to expedite payments of debts nearly five years old.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Sir David Eccles)Yes, Sir. But the Turkish authorities are keeping to the terms agreed with us and, in view of the difficult balance of payments situation in Turkey, this does not seem a good time for fresh negotiations in the sense my hon. Friend suggests.
Mr. Gresham CookeCould my right hon. Friend say whether the Turkish Government are using their sterling for buying sterling products instead of repaying their debts, and ought they not really to face up to their responsibilities and the fact that they are nearly five years in arrears?
§ Sir D. EcclesWe have an agreement with the Turks whereby they pay off £130,000 a month of their old commercial debts, and they are keeping to that agreement.