§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the division of responsibility within Government in respect of negotiations relating to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment; who has represented the UK Government during the negotiations; through which international fora negotiations are being conducted; and when she estimates a final text will be agreed. [38885]
§ Mrs. BeckettThe DTI leads for the UK on the MAI, co-ordinating the UK position with other interested Departments in the usual way. At ministerial level, the Government are represented by my noble Friend, Lord Clinton-Davis, Minister for Trade. The negotiations are being conducted at the OECD. I cannot give an estimate of when a final text will be agreed, but OECD Ministers agreed recently that negotiators should continue their work with the aim of reaching a successful and timely conclusion.