§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the attempts by the United States Administration to gain veto powers in international organisations, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the Inter-American Development Bank; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[holding answer 9 February 1988]: According to our understanding, the United States Government are not seeking to gain veto powers in either of these organisations.
The agreement establishing the Inter-American Development Bank, however, contains a requirement for a two-thirds majority for all decisions concerning the operations of the concessional fund for special operations. This effectively requires United States consent to such decisions, unless its voting power were to fall below one third. The United Kingdom accepted this, with other provisions of the agreement, when it joined the bank.