§ 48. Mr. SpellerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he will assist trade and education opportunity in Nigeria during 1989.
§ Mr. Chris PattenWe continue to support Nigeria through our substantial technical co-operation programme, which includes assistance to the education sector. Trade opportunities in Nigeria should benefit from the ecomomic adjustment programme on which we hope Nigeria is about to reach agreement with the International Monetary Fund. We have offered Nigeria a grant of USA 100 million in 1989 on condition that the IMF standby arrangement is approved and that other donors make a substantial contribution.
§ Mr. SpellerI thank my hon. Friend for his useful answer. Does he accept that if a young person is trained in a host country such as the United Kingdom, the odds are that he will use British methods, equipment and machinery for the rest of his working life? Does he accept also that any cut in aid to overseas countries for education will be in every sense counter-productive for our commercial interests in the years to come?
§ Mr. PattenI sympathise with my hon. Friend's argument though I do not think that matters are as mechanistic as he suggests. I am grateful for the work that he does through the West Africa committee to improve Anglo-Nigerian relations and to draw attention to the arguments that he has adduced. I am sure that he will he delighted to know that our technical co-operation and training programme in Nigeria is set to grow quite substantially. We shall be training about 365 Nigerians in the United Kingdom this year, and we intend to increase that figure to about 470 next year.