§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what sectors the Government consider that multilateral bodies should direct their aid in each of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries.
§ Mr. RaisonIn their aid operations multilateral agencies generally follow criteria similar to those of bilateral donors such as ODA. It follows that we would expect multilateral agencies to be active in the Caribbean in economic and social infrastructure, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and to provide support to private sector efforts in tourism and light industry.
§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish the results of the review undertaken by the Overseas Development Administration of the manpower and training assistance to the Caribbean Commonwealth together with the resulting action that he has taken.
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§ Mr. RaisonI shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what investments the Caribbean Development Bank has approved in each of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries over the last three years; and how much of that approved investment has been disbursed.
§ Mr. RaisonThis information is published by the Caribbean Development Bank and is contained in appendix Ito the bank's annual reports for the years 1980, 1981, 1982. I have arranged for copies of these reports to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the interagency resident mission in Antigua last met; and how successful it has been in attracting and co-ordinating assistance to the East Caribbean region.
§ Mr. RaisonThe inter-agency resident mission was established in July 1982. It has a small permanent staff based in Antigua. Its progress and achievements will be reviewed at the sixth meeting of the Caribbean group for co-operation in economic development to be held in Washington, 13–17 February 1984.
§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the conclusions of the last meeting of the Caribbean group for economic co-operation and development; when the group last met; and who represented the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. RaisonThe fifth meeting of the Caribbean group for co-operation in economic development (CGCED) was held in Washington in June 1982. The United Kingdom delegation was led by the then Minister for Overseas Development, Sir Neil Marten. No formal conclusions were reached, but the balance of payments problem facing the countries of the region emerged as a major concern.