§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the principal achievements of his recent visits to(a) Bangladesh and (b) India; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's visit to Bangladesh and India enabled him to judge personally the practical value of the United Kingdom's two largest bilateral aid programmes. In Bangladesh he urged the importance of political stability for foreign investors. In both countries he met the Prime Minister and gave high level support to the process of economic reform, notably in a well received speech at the centenary of the Confederation of Indian Industries in Calcutta. He also discussed the future direction of the massively successful Indo-British partnership initiative.