HC Deb 15 December 1958 vol 597 cc748-9
6. Mr. Marquand

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what decisions have been taken by the Council of Ministers upon Recommendations 158 and 159 concerning aid to less developed areas and the development of Africa, passed unanimously by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Mr. Profumo

The Committee of Ministers commented on these two Recommendations in the Report which they presented to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe at their meeting in October. This report has been published.

While recognising the importance of the principles laid down in Recommendation 158, the Committee of Ministers said that they were unable to reach a decision on the political aspects of the Recommendation until the current negotiations on the Free Trade Area and on the links to be established with the Six Power Community had reached a sufficiently advanced stage.

With regard to Recommendation No. 159, the Committee of Ministers have reported to the Assembly that they have not yet reached a decision concerning a conference proposed in the Recommendation but that, for similar reasons, they considered that in any case such a conference could not usefully be held in the immediate future.

Mr. Marquand

With regard to the second of the two recommendations, whatever the feeling may be about a conference, is the hon. Member aware that the proposals for an Investment Statute and a Guarantee Fund have aroused widespread interest and have recently been repeated in a resolution by the N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians? In consultation with his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies, will he do all he can to see that these Recommendations are studied and widely made known?

Mr. Profumo

Yes, Sir, we will certainly see that they are studied, but the right hon. Gentleman will recognise that the Recommendations deal with matters of very considerable importance, and, of course, they are by no means simple.

7. Mr. Marquand

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Council of Ministers have yet considered the Recommendation of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe concerning the exploitation of natural gas in the Northern Sahara; and what conclusion it has reached.

Mr. Profumo

As my right hon. Friend told the House on 26th November, recommendation 167 was referred to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation. That Organisation has meanwhile decided to send the Recommendation to the appropriate Technical Committee for study.

Mr. Marquand

Here again, may I ask the hon. Member whether he will draw the attention of his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Recommendation while it is being studied elsewhere? Is he aware that the Council of Europe unanimously recommended that these immensely valuable new resources in the Sahara should be used for the benefit of the African peoples? Will he draw his right hon. Friend's attention to that opinion?

Mr. Profumo

I certainly will, but I should point out that the exploration of the natural resources of the Sahara is primarily a matter for the French Government.