§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to increase the application of the Know-how Fund to Estonia. [108581]
§ Clare Short1. Our plans for technical assistance to Estonia are set out in the published Baltic States Country Strategy Paper (CSP), which covers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. A copy of the CSP has been placed in the Library of the House.
2. The strategy focuses on:
i. Strengthening capacity in strategic planning and project design in environment, enabling effective take-up of both domestic and donor funding.ii. Strengthening capacity in strategic participatory planning for regional and rural development.iii. Effective public administration, underpinning sound policy development and service delivery to all sections of the population.3. We are working closely with other donors, notably the EC Phare programme in all three of the above priority areas.