§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the reconstruction of Kosovo; and if she will make a statement. [138195]
§ Mr. FoulkesWe have not had recent discussions on Kosovo with other Ministers but I met key officials on my visit to Kosovo earlier this year and officials of this Department attend meetings of the Management Board of the EU Agency for Reconstruction, which is responsible for the EU's programme in Kosovo. The Department's office in Pristina liaises directly with the agency and with other donors, including EU member states, on reconstruction issues. The agency has made good progress on developing its 360 million euros programme of reconstruction activities in 2000 since its establishment in March. The United Kingdom's contribution to this programme is about £39 million. In addition, we are providing £5 million in bilateral technical assistance in this financial year.