HC Deb 16 December 1968 vol 775 c872
52. Mr. Peel

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will propose through the Committee of Ministers to the Council of Europe that it should explore the possibility of creating a Middle Eastern Development Organisation.

Mr. Mulley

We do not regard this as an urgent task for the Council of Europe.

Mr. Peel

Has the right hon. Gentleman seen that the proposal received widespread support both in the Assembly of Western European Union and in the North Atlantic Assembly? Does not he agree that this area would benefit greatly from a scheme based perhaps on the lines of the Colombo Plan and that, if free Europe could get such a scheme launched, it would be extremely helpful from the point of view of the free world in assisting this difficult and sensitive area?

Mr. Mulley

I do not deny the desirability of a development programme for the Middle East. We have a number of bilateral programmes ourselves and would welcome further programmes by other European countries. We feel that projects of this kind might better be in the hands of the O.E.C.D. rather than of the Council of Europe but that is just our preliminary view.