§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what official visits he, his Ministers or officials have paid to Zimbabwe since May 1997; whom they met; and what was discussed. [73457]
§ Mr. SpellarThere have been no visits by MOD Ministers to Zimbabwe since May 1997. Two senior MOD officials visited Zimbabwe in 1998 where they met UK staff working for the regional British Military Assistance Training programme, gave presentations on the UK Strategic Defence Review, held workshops on management issues and paid office calls on Defence Ministers, senior members of the Armed Forces and senior officials. A senior MOD official has been on secondment since May 1995 assisting in the restructuring and management of the Zimbabwean MOD.
There have been a number of visits by other officials and military staff for a variety of reasons. The cost of listing them all would be disproportionate.