HC Deb 01 February 1996 vol 270 c851W
Mr. Mullin

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the value of British aid to Belize over the last five years. [12097]

Mr. Hanley

Aid to Belize over the last five years for which records are available, has been

  • 1990–91: £6.016 million
  • 1991–92; £3.674 million
  • 1992–93: £4.498 million
  • 1993–94: £5.966 million
  • 1994–95: £16.618 million

The increase in aid provided in 1994–95 is due primarily to the disbursement of a CDC loan of £10.4 million to the Belize Electric Co. Ltd. for a hydro-electric power facility on the Macal river.

Mr. Mullin

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list current aid and preferential trade arrangements with Belize. [12093]

Mr. Hanley

Belize receives concessional aid from Britain and the European Union under the Lomé convention. Other donors include Taiwan and Kuwait. Belize is also a borrowing member of the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and Caribbean Development Bank. Preferential trade arrangements include the European Community's generalised system of preferences and, under the terms of the Lomé convention, tariff-free access to Community markets for industrial products, and preferential access for a wide range of agricultural goods.