HL Deb 25 January 2000 vol 608 cc182-4WA
Viscount Waverley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

With which countries, since 1990, they have ended export credit support for arms sales. [HL554]

The Minister for Science, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)

The Chancellor announced on 11 January 2000 a unilateral UK ban on export credits in respect of "unproductive expenditure" to 63 of the world's poorest countries. This initiative follows the UK's unilateral two-year ban on export credits for unproductive expenditure to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries announced in September 1997. This is now being extended indefinitely and widened to cover all countries which are only eligible to borrow from the World Bank on highly concessional terms.

Projects supported in future should be measured against the following indicative criteria:

assist social and economic development; or be of maximum benefit to areas most affected by poverty; or tackle problem areas where private investment is not available; or wherever possible, earn foreign exchange; or encourage viable self financing projects.

These principles need not necessarily preclude ECGD support for the sale of defence or dual use equipment provided that such equipment is, for example, deemed essential for national security, or required to combat the drugs trade, piracy, smuggling, etc. Support for projects must be cleared with the Department for International Development, which must be satisfied that the expenditure is consistent with the above.

The full list of countries to which the ban applies is attached.

The Export Credits Ban Will Cover:

  1. 1 Afghanistan
  2. 2 Albania
  3. 3 Angola
  4. 4 Bangladesh
  5. 5 Benin
  6. 6 Bhutan
  7. 7 Bolivia
    8. WA 183
  8. 8 Burkina Faso
  9. 9 Burundi
  10. 10 Cambodia
  11. 11 Cameroon
  12. 12 Cape Verde
  13. 13 Central African Republic
  14. 14 Chad
  15. 15 Comoros
  16. 16 Côte d'Ivoire
  17. 17 Democratic Republic of Congo
  18. 18 Djibouti
  19. 19 Equatorial Guinea
  20. 20 Eritrea
  21. 21 Ethiopia
  22. 22 Ghana
  23. 23 Guinea
  24. 24 Guinea-Bissau
  25. 25 Guyana
  26. 26 Haiti
  27. 27 Honduras
  28. 28 Kenya
  29. 29 Kiribati
  30. 30 Lao People's Democratic Republic
  31. 31 Lesotho
  32. 32 Liberia
  33. 33 Madagascar
  34. 34 Malawi
  35. 35 Maldives
  36. 36 Mali
  37. 37 Mauritania
  38. 38 Mongolia
  39. 39 Mozambique
  40. 40 Myanmar
  41. 41 Nepal
  42. 42 Nicaragua
  43. 43 Niger
  44. 44 Republic of Congo
  45. 45 Republic of Yemen
  46. 46 Rwanda
  47. 47 Samoa
  48. 48 Sao Tome and Principe
  49. 49 Senegal
  50. 50 Sierra Leone
  51. 51 Solomon Islands
  52. 52 Somalia
  53. 53 Sri Lanka
  54. 54 Sudan
  55. 55 Tajikistan
  56. 56 Tanzania
  57. 57 The Gambia
    58. WA 184
  58. 58 Togo
  59. 59 Tonga
  60. 60 Uganda
  61. 61 Vanuatu
  62. 62 Vietnam
  63. 63 Zambia