§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it remains government policy that the provision of aid should not be linked to compliance with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. [HL3989]
§ Baroness AmosAmongst our development partners, only India and Pakistan have conducted nuclear tests but are not signatories to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In the light of those tests last year, G8 Foreign Ministers agreed that they would seek to postpone loans by the international finance institutions (IFIs) to India and Pakistan, and to any other country which conducted a nuclear test, unless the loans are in support of basic human needs. We continue to judge each IFI loan on its merits, against that criterion. The G8 also made clear, however, that the poor of India and Pakistan should not be punished for the decisions of their governments. We have therefore continued our bilateral development co-operation programmes, which are firmly focused on reducing poverty, in both countries. We continue to urge both India and Pakistan to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and to take the other non-proliferation steps identified in UNSCR 1172.