§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations her Department has received regarding the amount of GDP Pakistan spent since 1998 on(a) arms imports in general and (b) arms imports from the United Kingdom. [65451]
§ Clare ShortMy Department has not received any representation since 1998 regarding the amount of GDP Pakistan spent on arms imports in general. DFID is working with the World bank and IMF to track Pakistan's reform programme, including the pattern of fiscal expenditure. Pakistan's defence budget as a percent of GDP has been broadly stable around 4 per cent. over recent years. However, Pakistan's intention to reduce defence spending is under threat given the current stand-off with India.
The total value of UK standard individual export licences (SIEL) applications for which licences were issued in 1999 and 2000 was £11.5 million and £6 million respectively. By contrast, Pakistan's budget defence expenditure between 2000–01 was approximately £1.6 billion.