§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on(a) the contribution made by the United Kingdom to and (b) the outcome of the final review of the UnitedNations programme of action for African economic recovery and development.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe United Kingdom has played a full part in helping African countries implement the United Nations programme of action for African economic recovery and development (UNPAAERD) through its bilateral aid programmes and its contribution to international initiatives.
In particular we have:
- taken a lead in promoting international consensus and action on debt relief for the poorest countries, many of which are African;
- provided substantial resources through multilateral channels including the World Bank, up 50 per cent. of whose IDA resources are available for Africa, the African Development Bank and the EC's Lomé convention;
- continued substantial bilateral aid programmes to many African countries including £550 million pledged for support of economic reform under the first and second phases of the special programme of assistance to sub-Saharan Africa co-ordinated by the World bank.