§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Prime Minister what initiatives he plans to take to advance the aims of avoiding world over-armament as agreed in annex VII of the Presidency conclusions of the European Council meeting at Luxembourg on 28–29 June.
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 11 July 1991]: We are actively pursuing a number of initiatives to encourage greater responsibility and transparency in the international transfer of conventional weapons, and to combat proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The five leading arms exporters met in Paris on 8–9 July and agreed to develop machinery for continuing consultations on arms transfers. A further meeting will be held in London.
The Paris meeting also endorsed our initiative to establish a United Nations register of arms transfers. The initiative has attracted wide support. The European Council on 28–29 June announced that the Twelve will present a resolution to set up such a register at the next United Nations General Assembly.
These issues are on the agenda of next week's London economic summit.