§ 1. Commander Courtneyasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the current rate of British exports to Bulgaria; and whether he is satisfied that the present British commercial representation in Sofia is adequate in respect of the potentialities of Anglo-Bulgarian trade.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Douglas Jay)Our exports this year are running at an annual rate of £2.7 million. Commercial representation is kept under regular review by my Department and the Foreign Office. As the Plowden Committee pointed out, the lack of an adequate reserve of manpower has led to overstrain, which is reflected in the staffing of Foreign Office posts. Within this limitation the staff at the embassy at Sofia are deployed with commercial work foremost in mind.
§ Commander CourtneyDoes the right hon. Gentleman think that this is really a good return for the £75,000 which the British Embassy in Sofia costs the British taxpayer each year, and will he confirm that commercial representation is confined to half of one individual who doubles up as the consul? Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he thinks that there is proper, genuine, per- 538 sonal contact between the members of this embassy and the Bulgarian people, and does he not think that this disproportion between trade and diplomacy is very marked?
§ Mr. JayI understand that the ambassador and his second in command spend much of their time on commercial work. I am glad to see that our exports to Bulgaria have been rising over the last three years, but I fully agree with the hon. and gallant Gentleman that this is an extremely and increasingly important function for our diplomatic posts abroad.
§ Mr. du CannHaving, like my hon. and gallant Friend, recently visited this country and other East European countries, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that I fully support what my hon. and gallant Friend has said? Does he not agree that the prospects of increasing trade are very great indeed, particularly in the context of liberalisation, and will he make an urgent point of consulting his right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in order to ensure that this matter is given urgent attention? It really is needed.
§ Mr. JayAlthough Bulgaria is one of the few countries which I have not visited in the last few months, I will take note with sympathy of what the right hon. Gentleman says.