§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if it is his policy to ensure that the MAI is negotiated in open session in the World Trade Organisation. [69487]
§ Mr. WillsNegotiations on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) are no longer taking place. The Government are now pursuing a long-held objective, shared by their EU partners, of placing the international investment issue on the agenda of the World Trade Organisation. However, any investment negotiation in the WTO would be a new negotiation, based on a new set of objectives to be established by consensus. The Government will continue to work within the WTO to achieve the maximum degree of openness on this and on other issues, and will keep the British public fully informed of their own actions.