South Africa (Hansard, 23 May 1994)

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, we look forward with confidence to working closely with President Mandela and his new government. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary attended President Mandela's inauguration and met with him and Deputy President de Klerk. Mr. de Klerk visited London and saw the Prime Minister last week.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, I thank the noble Viscount, Lord Cranborne, for that reply which will be well received not only in our country but indeed throughout the Commonwealth and other parts of the civilised world. Does not he agree that this is a remarkable triumph of Mr. Nelson Mandela and Mr. de Klerk in ending apartheid? The present Cabinet in the new South Africa is drawn from all parties. It is another new country and its people think highly of this country. Will our Government make every endeavour to assist those people on their way to establishing themselves as a new free democratic country?

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, the House will be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Molloy, for what he said and will feel all too easily able to endorse the sentiments that he has expressed. I can indeed confirm that Her Majesty's Government are well aware of the massive amount of good will that has been shown over the past few weeks by representatives on all sides of all communities in the Republic of South Africa. This has been demonstrated in a number of ways, particularly by the extraordinary reception given to the Royal Navy vessel which recently visited Cape Town. The scenes were described as unprecedented for such a visit.
I reassure the noble Lord that we are doing our best in terms of aid and in terms of help in training the new security and police forces of the new government of South Africa. We are helping in a number of other ways to make sure that the good relations which we now have —as the noble Lord said—with the new government of South Africa will be built upon and that those relations will become an example for all of us in the years to come.

§ Lord Gisborough
My Lords, will my noble friend take a lead in the international community in recommending that great care is taken not to lend too 480 much money as the overlending of such money has caused immense financial disaster in many other countries?

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, I am of course interested by my noble friend's question. As I am sure my noble friend knows, we are increasingly careful, even by our own standards, as regards aid money and the direction of our aid money. The Republic of South Africa will be no exception in that regard. I would draw the attention of my noble friend to the various international initiatives from the World Bank and the IMF which are in the process of being developed to address the problems of the new government.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords—

§ Baroness Blackstone
My Lords—

§ Lord Wakeham
My Lords, it is the turn of the noble Lord.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness. Does the Minister accept that those of us who had the great privilege, honour and joy of being in South Africa during the election time are thankful for the answers he has given? I hope I may go a little further and ask whether Her Majesty's Government are taking steps to do everything in their power to ensure that South Africa returns to the Commonwealth at the earliest possible moment.

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, we were extremely proud to see so many British parliamentarians taking part in the exercise to which the noble Lord referred. Of course we greatly look forward to the early return of the Republic of South Africa to the Commonwealth and we hope that that will not be long delayed.

§ Baroness Blackstone
My Lords, I was delighted to hear the Minister refer to the importance of our aid programme. In the light of its importance to our diplomatic relationships with South Africa, does the Minister agree that our embassy in Pretoria ought to have an ODA official occupying one of its existing senior posts at counsellor level or above?

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, I am most interested in the suggestion made by the noble Baroness. With her permission I shall draw her remarks to the attention of my noble friend, who is sorry that she is unable to answer this Question today.

§ Lord Wright of Richmond
My Lords, does the Minister agree that not only the present British Ambassador in South Africa but also his recent predecessors have worked extremely hard to develop contacts both with Mr. Mandela and with all strands of South African political opinion? Does he also agree that they should have put Her Majesty's Government in a good position not only to develop close co-operation and co-ordination with the new South African Government but also to promote and protect British interests in South Africa?

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, the noble Lord's knowledge and experience of these matters are 481 unrivalled. I am delighted to be able to endorse everything that he said. It would be very unwise of your Lordships—therefore I am sure that your Lordships will not attempt to do so—to underestimate the influence of British diplomacy in bringing about this very desirable state of affairs.

A noble Lord
My Lords—

§ Lord Wakeham
My Lords, we ought to move on now.