§ 2.44 p.m.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions were reached at the Conference of Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Guyana.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, copies of the Communiqué issued by the 458 Commonwealth Finance Ministers have been placed in the Library. At their Georgetown meeting the Ministers discussed a wide range of international economic and financial issues including in particular those considered in the Interim Report of the Commonwealth Group of Experts. Copies of the Report of this Group of Experts, who were appointed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting at Kingston in April, have also been placed in the Library.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, may I ask the Minister whether he is aware that I—and, I think, others—will be disappointed that no Statement of these conclusions is being made to the House and that the Communiqué and Report are simply being left in the Library? While welcoming the new approach of the West to the Third World, may I ask whether it is not the case that, at this Conference, the British representatives opposed the proposal for indexing export and import prices, the ownership of natural resources in the Third World and control of multinational companies? Will Her Majesty's Government revise their view about those issues?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, we commended the Report as a valuable contribution to a constructive dialogue in the critical area of international economic relations; but, like some other Governments who were represented, we indicated that we had reservations on some of the ideas and proposals. Nevertheless, there is much in the Report with which we would agree.