§ 92. Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to restore bilateral aid to Nicaragua.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe have decided to start a modest bilateral technical co-operation programme to Nicaragua. We are in touch with our ambassador in Costa Rica, who has responsibility for our relations with Nicaragua, about how the programme could best be deployed.
§ 93. Mr. MurphyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an assessment of Nicaragua's needs for international assistance since the election of Violetta Chamorro.
§ Mrs. ChalkerEC Ministers will be meeting their central American colleagues in Dublin on 9 and 10 April, and will be able to discuss the needs of the countries of that region, notably Nicaragua, then. Our main channel of international assistance in Nicaragua is through our contribution to EC aid to that country and, as indicated in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 12 March, we will seek to ensure that EC aid to Nicaragua is maintained, and possibly increased, once Senora Chamorro's democratically elected Government take office.