§ 23. Mr. HendrickTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Swedish Development Ministry about Sweden's development priorities during its presidency of the EU. [147661]
§ Clare ShortWe are working closely with the Swedish Development Ministry on development priorities for their EU presidency in January-June 2001. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes), visited Stockholm in October for discussions prior to the Swedish presidency and there are frequent contacts between officials.
The Swedish EU presidency January to June 2001 is an important opportunity to take forward recent efforts to improve the effectiveness of EC development programmes. In particular, Sweden shares our view that it is essential to see early progress in implementing the EC's recently agreed development policy, with its central objective of reducing poverty.