§ 4. Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria his Department has for recommending countries for inclusion on the list of countries for which special export licensing procedures are required; and what plans his Department has to review these criteria. [12346]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. David Davis)The list is drawn up in accordance with foreign policy objectives, international understandings or embargoes to which we are party, the non-proliferation credentials of the country concerned and the effectiveness of its export controls. A revised list was published on 19 July 1995 and is printed in the Official Report. The list is kept under constant review.
§ Mr. CousinsI have the list of countries with me. It is necessary to stop countries being used as a staging post 316 to pass on the means of war to unacceptable regimes. Therefore, can the Minister explain why Israel, which we have just been discussing, is included on the list, but well-known and well-established staging posts such as Jordan, Singapore, Portugal and Cyprus are not? Is it that the Foreign Office is still happy to be the kind of mouse that knows that there is a black market in weapons and is not willing to do enough to stop it?
§ Mr. DavisThe answer is straightforward. I suspect that I shall disappoint the hon. Gentleman. The list covers countries which are of concern across the full range of dual-use goods or are subject to specific embargoes. Other countries may be of concern in a limited fashion and they are dealt with in a specific way related to that limited fashion. If there are particular countries that the hon. Gentleman thinks should be on the list, he should write to me about it.