HC Deb 08 February 2001 vol 362 c678W
Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many(a) countries, (b) international organisations and (c) non-governmental organisations are involved in providing aid to Kosovo. [148927]

Clare Short

According to information provided by the OSCE office in Kosovo and the Kosovo Department of Reconstruction, there are 25 countries, 12 international organisations and 402 international non-governmental organisations involved in providing aid to Kosovo.

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact of the United Kingdom aid programme in Kosovo. [148928]

Clare Short

We have recently reviewed progress against the strategy for our development programme in Kosovo prepared in January 2000. We have made the transition from humanitarian assistance to targeted technical assistance for longer-term capacity building focused on areas such as social welfare, public administration reform and health. We are also working closely with the European Agency for Reconstruction and the World Bank. We are revising our strategic objectives for the next phase of support to Kosovo.

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to review the(a) focus and (b) co-ordination of the international aid effort in Kosovo. [148929]

Clare Short

Co-ordination of international assistance to Kosovo is the responsibility of the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). We have discussed priorities with the newly appointed head of UNMIK, Mr. Hans Haekkerup and his staff. The focus of the international effort should be on developing the capacity of Kosovars to take increasing levels of responsibility for public administration and service delivery.

A donor meeting will be held in Pristina on 25–26 February to review the position and agree priorities for future aid.