§ 37. Mr. Blakerasked the Minister for Overseas Development if he will make a statement about the progress of the STABEX scheme under the Lomé Convention.
§ Mr. JuddThe aid and STABEX provisions of the Lomé Convention came into force on 1st April this year. On 8th July agreements covering financial transfers for 1975 were signed with the 17 ACP States which had made claims meeting the conditions laid down by the convention. Details of these payments were in a reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) on 13th October.
§ Mr. BlakerHave the Government considered whether the STABEX scheme might provide a model which would be useful in a wider context—for example, the North-South Conference?
§ Mr. JuddIt is of course limited to Lomé initially. We are studying and monitoring it closely to see how it works. To extend it more widely would be a complex operation which would have to be undertaken in the appropriate international forums. But we shall certainly bear in mind what the hon. Gentleman has said.