§ 61. Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider increasing aid to Nicaragua.
§ Mr. RaisonHer Majesty's Government have no plans to increase the level of their bilateral aid. Nicaragua does, however, benefit substantially from the European Community's aid programme.
§ Mr. DubsIs the Minister aware that Britain's bilateral aid currently stands at around £25,000 a year and that that sum seems to be very trivial in relation to the needs of the country? May I ask the Minister to reconsider increasing aid to Nicaragua, because if he does not do so many people will think that his motives are political spite rather than a realisation of the needs of the people of Nicaragua?
§ Mr. RaisonThe fact of the matter is that Nicaragua is by no means the poorest of the countries in central America, and is not among the poorest 50 countries as defined by the World Bank. Our intention is to concentrate our aid as far as possible on the poorest countries, and Nicaragua does not fall into that category.
§ Mr. MeadowcroftDoes the Minister accept that, apart from humanitarian considerations, the recent history of liberation movements and other such organisations in Africa shows that if we in the West do not give aid to Nicaragua or countries like it, it is almost inevitable that such countries will be put into the hands of the Communist bloc, which will certainly aid them?
§ Mr. RaisonI can only repeat that it is not possible for the United Kingdom to undertake substantial aid programmes to every country in the world. We have our priorities, and of course countries with historic connections rate high in our priorities, by and large. Nicaragua is not one of the poorest countries.