§ 13. Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney)If he will make a statement on his policy relating to Brazil following the recent economic turbulence there. [69434]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Tony Lloyd)Brazil remains by far our largest market in Latin America and we are committed to strengthening our trade and investment links with that country.
The Government support the Brazilian programme of fiscal adjustment agreed with the International Monetary Fund and welcome the Brazilian Government's commitment to continue with the reform process.
§ Mr. BlizzardI thank my hon. Friend. Will he press the Brazilian Government to ensure that, in their stabilisation process, poorer and more vulnerable people are given as much protection as possible? More generally, does not the economic crisis in Brazil underline the importance of the work of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in creating new international arrangements to assist world financial stability—in contrast to the previous Government, who saw no further than boom and bust?
§ Mr. LloydOn the second point, of course my hon. Friend is right; he has a particular interest in Brazil. The record of the previous Government was poor in terms of not only Brazil but the whole international financial system. Not only have the present Government given considerable support—some $2.25 billion—to the Brazilian economy directly, but the Government. and the Chancellor of the Exchequer in particular, have been concerned to ensure, through the G7 and elsewhere, that the global financial system works to move to greater stability, greater transparency, the introduction of codes of conduct, and practical co-operation between regulators: practical efforts to ensure that this financial crisis can be brought to a speedy end.
729 On the issue of protecting the poorest people in Brazil, we shall argue, both in our direct relations with Brazil and in our consultations with the IMF, that the most vulnerable must be protected.