§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has received about Her Majesty's Government's policy on development aid for Vietnam, and from which organisation; and if he will make a statement;
(2) whether he will now consider the joint funding of NGO projects in Vietnam on a case-by-case basis.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI have received representations from Save the Children Fund, Oxfam and Christian Aid about aid to Vietnam, and also from a number of private individuals. We welcome the withdrawal of Vietnamese combat units from Cambodia, but we also expect the Vietnamese Government to meet their obligations towards their own people, including the boat people in Hong Kong, as a pre-condition for the establishment of a Government-to-Government aid programme. Further progress is also needed in the reform of economic policies.
Following the representations to which I have referred, I am considering whether the time has come to open Vietnam for participation in the joint funding scheme whereby the Government meet half the costs of agreed projects sponsored by voluntary agencies, and in particular how the agencies might be able to contribute to mitigating the economic and humanitarian problems in the areas from which the boat people predominantly come.