§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What limitations if any are placed on the character of NATO Advance Research Workshops paid for by the NATO science programme budget, given that a recent such workshop was held in Tashkent on Critical Scientific Issues of the Aral Sea Basin: State of Knowledge and Future Research Needs, and what relevance this topic has for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
§ Baroness Chalker of Wallasey:Advanced research workshops are utilised by the NATO Science Committee's Outreach programme of scientific aid to central and eastern European countries. They bring together internationally renowned scientists and experts to discuss specific scientific problems which have arisen in former Warsaw Pact countries but have wider implications. The degradation of the Aral Sea basin is one such issue.