§ Lord BROCKWAYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will support at the ministerial conference in Geneva on 27th to 30th May the proposal to establish in June a Common Fund to finance buffer stocks and other price stabilising measures for commodities produced in developing countries, and if so what sum the United Kingdom will contribute towards the fund.
§ Lord TREFGARNEWe hope that the conference, which will now be held from 5th to 18th June, will succeed in resolving the outstanding issues in negotiations on Articles of Agreement for the Common Fund, which have been under way since September 1979. Our own mandatory contribution to the fund has not yet been precisely determined, but is likely to be around 15 million dollars. In addition we have stated our intention of making a voluntary contribution to the fund's second account.