§ 19. Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional requests for aid she has received since March for those countries in the Balkan area affected by the Kosovo conflict. [89770]
§ Clare ShortRequests for international assistance from countries affected by the Kosovo crisis have been handled within the framework of Donor's Conferences.
We have responded through our contributions to the EU and World Bank pledges which, to date, total some —200 million to Albania and —250 million to Macedonia. Bilaterally, we have committed £90 million in humanitarian assistance, much of which has been spent in Albania and Macedonia. We have also committed £10 million for technical assistance to the Governments of Albania and Macedonia to help strengthen their capacity to take forward key reforms and to help them absorb international assistance through improvements to their budgetary planning and assessment processes.
We expect that the proposed regional Stability Pact will provide a framework for discussing the regeneration of the Balkan region. The EU will be a key participant in this process and in the international reconstruction effort in Kosovo.