§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about current aid support to the Indian sub-continent. [327]
§ Clare Short[pursuant to her reply, 21 May 1997, c. 91]: The reply should have read Britain spent £298 million on bilateral aid to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka in 1995–96. South Asia receives the second largest allocation of British bilateral aid of any region in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. The overall objective of our assistance programme is to help reduce poverty and promote sustainable development.