§ Mr. CohenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department is giving to the development of telecommunications in central and eastern Europe.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe DTI, through promotional events, seminars and ministerial-led trade missions, actively encourages British companies in the telecommunications sector to export to, and invest in, central and eastern Europe. The establishment of joint ventures and the transfer of know-how will encourage the development of, and spread of best practice in, the telecommunications sector in the region. The DTI has appointed an export promoter, a private sector secondee, who deals specifically with promoting trade in the telecommunications sector with central and eastern Europe.
The EU's technical assistance programme, PHARE, has highlighted telecommunications as one of its priority sectors. The United Kingdom is a significant contributor to the PHARE programme. To date PHARE has provided 42.9 million ecu in assistance for the development of telecommunications in the region.