HC Deb 16 December 2003 vol 415 cc1413-9

The Secretary of State was asked—

5. Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)

What representations he has received about the situation in the Côte d'Ivoire; and if he will make a statement. [144040]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs(Mr. Chris Mullin)

We remain concerned about the situation in Côte d'Ivoire. We are in regular contact with the parties and key members of the international community, including France and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Mrs. Gillan

I, too, am concerned about the situation in Côte d'Ivoire. My constituent, who is from that country, came to see me the other day with several of his fellow countrymen. They support the Linas-Marcoussis agreement, despite the fragility of the ceasefire, but believe that France is playing a double game, favouring the rebels and harrying the Government because they have tried to open their markets rather than continuing with the French monopoly. Will the Minister agree to meet my constituent and his colleagues to discuss how the Government can, in my constituent's words, use their influence to ensure that the French do not bully African poor states that choose to open their economies to a wider trade area?

Mr. Mullin

I do not accept that for a moment. We support the role that the French have played. Their intervention has avoided civil war in the Côte d'Ivoire. The solution is for all sides to implement the Linas-Marcoussis agreement, which addresses the root causes of the crisis. If the hon. Lady wishes to bring constituents to see me to discuss the subject, I would be glad to meet them.

Tony Cunningham (Workington) (Lab)

We have rightly had questions on Zimbabwe, the Côte d'Ivoire and the great lakes area, and attention is focused on Iraq and Afghanistan. However, is not there a danger of taking our eye off the ball on problems like the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which when war broke out in 1998 cost the lives of about—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman is out of order.

    cc1413-4
  1. Colombia 557 words
    2. cc1414-6
  2. Zimbabwe 1,119 words
    3. cc1416-7
  3. Great Lakes Region 361 words
    4. cc1417-8
  4. Gibraltar 531 words
  5. Côte d'Ivoire
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