HL Deb 13 March 1992 vol 536 cc79-80WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much aid they pledged to Eritrea in 1991–92 and how much they will pledge in 1992–93; and what amounts the EC will give Eritrea in these years.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (The Earl of Caithness)

Since September 1990 we have pledged £7.4 million bilateral humanitarian assistance to Eritrea, including 23,000 tonnes of food. £4.58 million of this has been committed in 1991–92. We shall continue to respond to Eritrea's relief needs in the coming year. We expect them to benefit from the £23 million package of assistance for the Horn of Africa, which my right honourable friend the Minister for Overseas Development announced on 13th February. Ethiopia and Eritrea's development needs are substantial. We are currently considering the size and scope of our future bilateral development assistance programme to Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is clear however that the major contribution will have to come from multilateral organisations. We have pressed the Eritreans to have early, constructive discussions with the IMF, the World Bank and the European Community. The European Community provided 146,000 tonnes of cereals to Eritrea in 1991 at a cost of £22.5 million. So far in 1992 the EC have pledged 30,500 tonnes of food aid worth approximately £5 million. Figures for non-food emergency aid to Eritrea are not available. The Commission is currently reviewing arrangements for the allocation of development aid for Ethiopia under Lome IV to enable Eritrea to receive a share.