§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the percentage of the official time of the staff of the British embassies in each of the "Franc Zone" countries in Africa which is devoted to promoting British exports there.
§ Mr. HurdThe percentage of staff effort of our diplomatic missions devoted to export promotion in the "Franc Zone" countries can be roughly calculated as:
Per cent. Senegal 23 Cameroon 37 Ivory Coast 39 Gabon 31 Togo and Benin are covered from Accra, Upper Volta and Niger from Abidjan, Congo from Kinshasa, the Central African Republic from Yaounde/Douala and Chad from London.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are taken by the embassies to the Cameroon Republic and the Republic of Angola to promote British trade there; and what percentage of the official time of the staff is spent on such trade matters.
§ Mr. HurdThese posts offer the usual range of assistance to British business men, including advice about local market prospects, the provision of the contacts in Government, industry and commerce, the identification of export opportunities and intervention with local authorities as necessary.
The percentage of staff effort devoted to trade matters can be roughly calculated as:
Per cent. Cameroon Republic 37 Republic of Angola 31