§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's response to the recent appeal by the President of Armenia for international emergency aid.
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§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe United Kingdom gave £450,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the end of 1992 for their emergency relief work in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. We also contribute through the European Community; Armenia's 38 mecu (£26.4 million) share of the EC's 1.25 becu loan to the FSU for humanitarian needs is currently being drawn down.
The major problem at the moment is getting supplies into Armenia, and we have been working with our partners to overcome these difficulties. Following the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 1 February, an urgent assessment is being undertaken and we have expressed the view that it should concentrate particularly on the political and logistical problems of delivering supplies. The Commission also confirmed its readiness to use part of its emergency humanitarian aid reserve (circa 10 mecu (£7 million) in 1993) for Armenia if needed. Officials of the EC's technical assistance programme, who are in Armenia, are assessing food needs.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the supply of food and medical aid from the European Community to Armenia.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd[holding answer 4 February 1993]: Last winter Armenia received a share of the Community's 250 mecu (£175 million) humanitarian aid grant for the whole of the former Soviet Union. Additionally, an EC loan facility to the value of 38 mecu (£26.4 million) is available to Armenia as a whole, of which the Armenian Government have allocated 36 mecu (£25 million) for food
Project aid £ thousand Financial aid (excluding ATP) Technical co-operation (excluding ATP) Aid and trade provision Programme aid Other technical co-operation Debt relief Humanitarian assistance Total 1987–88 2,181 6,139 5,496 — 137 — 63 14,017 1988–89 4,848 7,599 7,230 — 42 — — 19,719 1989–90 5,289 6,968 1,248 — 48 — 78 13,631 1990–91 1,654 9,681 2,845 — 34 — 194 14,409 1991–92 1,658 7,179 591 — 30 — 70 9,528 Source: British Aid Statistics.
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Project Location Agriculture and livestock Agricultural research scholarship scheme Country-wide application Cambridge/Peradeniya veterinary link Kandy Audio visual centre, Peradeniya Kandy Reading—Ruhuna link Ruhuna Peradeniya collaboration project Kandy Coconut processing Country-wide Grain storage Country-wide Draught animal research Country-wide Forestry Victoria land use mapping project Central uplands of Sri Lanka Forestry and land use mapping; management and plantation; forestry research and information Emphasis on forest conservation and planting in the uplands; some aspects of wider application Sri Jayawardenepura university Colombo Oxford Forestry Institute/Peradeniya Kandy Fishing Sandskipper South East coastal zone stuffs and 2 mecu (£1.4 million) for medical supplies. The bulk of the supplies have not yet arrived owing to the problems of transportation through neighbouring states.
We have been working with our partners to try to overcome these problems. Following the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 1 February, an urgent assessment is being carried out and we have expressed the view that it should concentrate particularly on the political and logistical problems of delivering supplies. The Commission also confirmed its readiness to use part of its emergency humanitarian aid reserve (circa 10 mecu (£7 million) in 1993) for Armenia if necessary.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the European Community is providing to the care and treatment of Armenian and Azeri refugees; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd[holding answer 4 February 1993]: Last year the Community gave 2 mecu (£1.4 million) of emergency humanitarian aid specifically to refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. The EC has also made available a 38 mecu (£26.4 million) loan facility for humanitarian purposes to Armenia as a whole.