§ Mr. Luceasked the Minister of Overseas Development what is the current amount of aid provided by Her Majesty's Government to Vietnam; what is the 537W composition of that aid; and whether she plans to use any aid to Vietnam for the purpose of the construction of ships for that country.
§ Mrs. HartBritish bilateral aid to Vietnam in the current financial year will be £625,000 for food aid, £25,000 for emergency flood relief and £210,000 for English language training and books.
As I told the House last June, aid has been offered under the aid-trade contingency provision to assist the Government of Vietnam to buy cargo vessels and gas turbines from the United Kingdom. Commercial negotiations began some considerable time ago. Government involvement began in July 1977 and February 1978 respectively. In the light of the most recent disturbing events involving Vietnam, the Government have urgently considered whether the offers should now be withdrawn. After careful examination they have reluctantly decided not to do so because of the contractual implications. The total cost of the aid involved is £4.5 million for the cargo vessels and £2.9 million for the gas turbines.
Apart from any disaster and humanitarian aid, the Government propose to provide no further bilateral aid to Vietnam in the present circumstances of human rights there.