§ Mr. DouglasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on discussions between the chief of defence procurement and his French counterpart, Jacques Chevallier, with regard to possible collaboration in weapon procurement.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe Government are committed to increasing equipment co-operation within the Alliance and officials have a regular discussions with their counterparts in all other NATO countries. In September, the chief of defence procurement and Mr. Chevallier presided over a joint Anglo-French conference aimed at identifying practical steps to achieve better value for money by extending the use of open competition, reducing duplication of development programmes and increasing interoperability. Discussions on these matters are, continuing.