§ 3. Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby)If he will make a statement on trade between the United Kingdom and Indonesia. [61294]
§ The Minister for Trade (Mr. Brian Wilson)Indonesia was the United Kingdom's 37th largest export market in 1997, with exports totalling £701 million. This year has seen a 50 per cent. decrease in year-on-year exports to the end of September, whereas imports from Indonesia have remained steady at £740 million.
1027 In the short term, Indonesia faces a period of economic and political uncertainty. In the longer term, the pace of economic recovery depends on the Indonesian Government's management of political change and its continued implementation of the International Monetary Fund reform programme.
§ Mr. WareingI thank my hon. Friend for his answer, which gives some comfort. Last year, £118 million-worth of transport equipment was exported to Indonesia. Similar contracts have probably been implemented this year. Will my hon. Friend take steps to ensure that none of that equipment is used for the suppression of the Indonesian people, or for Indonesia's genocidal campaign in East Timor?
§ Mr. WilsonMy hon. Friend's concerns are understandable. I assure him that, in the past, we have taken up with the Indonesian Government our concerns about the use of British-supplied equipment. It is the Government's policy that no equipment should be exported that would be used as my hon. Friend described. Every application for export licences to Indonesia is measured against that criterion.