§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement348W on the new partnership for African development in relation to Burkina Faso. [34650]
§ Hilary BennThe new partnership for African development (NEPAD) is an Africa-wide initiative that does not focus on specific countries. NEPAD has set up teams to work on five areas, which are: capacity building on peace and security; economic and corporate governance; infrastructure; central bank and financial standards; and agriculture and market access. Burkina Faso is not a member of the NEPAD steering committee or implementation committee. If Burkina Faso implements the principles set out by NEPAD, it should also benefit from the faster progress in development and poverty reduction that will ensue.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department provides to the Government of Burkina Faso. [34648]
§ Hilary BennWe do not have a substantive development programme in Burkina Faso. However a small amount of funding is allocated for small-scale grants to developmentally worthy activities. Last year £19,000 was provided in this way to fund a food security project. The EC maintains a large development assistance programme. In 1999 (the last year for which we have details) this amounted to £33.93 million, the UK imputed share of which was approximately £6.3 million.