§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage cultural, scientific and academic exchange between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.
§ Mrs. ChalkerCultural, scientific and academic exchanges between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union are increasing. Such exchanges are provided for in the memorandum of understanding signed during my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit to the Soviet Union last year and in the biennial British/Soviet cultural agreement which was signed in January 1987 for the period 1987–89. The staffing of the cultural department in the British embassy in Moscow was strengthened in 1987.