§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has considered the implications of the World Commission on Dams Report for his decision on an export credit for the Ilisu Dam; and if he will make a statement. [140755]
§ Mr. CabornWe are studying carefully the Report of the World Commission on Dams. We will take account of the Report in considering our decision on Ilisu.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the Turkish authorities in meeting the four conditions for UK ECGD support announced in December 1999; and if he will make a statement. [140756]
§ Mr. CabornProgress has been made on the four conditions since my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's statement to the press in December last year. However, we will have a much clearer idea of the extent to which those conditions have been addressed when we have seen and assessed the updated Environmental Impact Assessment Report, the response of the Turkish authorities to that document and the Resettlement Action Plan.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the recommendations and guidelines for good practice identified in the recent World Commission on Dams Report will be used to shape the policies of the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [140757]
§ Mr. CabornThe Report is clearly a seminal document and will require detailed study. ECGD propose to consult with other Departments, in particular the Department for International Development (who provided funding for the Commission), the Department 749W of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of Trade and Industry and Trade Partners.
ECGD will also seek to ensure that the Export Credit Agencies issues raised by the Report are properly and fully considered by the OECD, and will also liaise with ECAs bilaterally. We will of course consider how far the Report affords us a template for our decision making process on future dam projects where we are approached for cover.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Governments of(a) Turkey, (b) Syria and (c) Iraq relating to the legal implications of the Ilisu Dam for cross border water sharing agreements between these countries and obligations under international law. [140758]
§ Mr. CabornMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has had no discussions with the governments of Turkey, Syria or Iraq on the Ilisu Dam. We are of course aware that the Syrian and Iraqi governments have made representations to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding the project, and the issue of waterflow to downstream states is one of the four conditions outlined by my right hon. Friend in his statement to the press last December. My officials and their Foreign and Commonwealth office counterparts remain in touch with Turkish officials regarding these conditions.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive a copy of the updated Environmental Impact Assessment report and Resettlement report in respect of the Ilisu Dam. [140759]
§ Mr. CabornThe latest information we have is that the updated Environmental Impact Assessment Report is expected to be made available to the Turkish buyer shortly. When the buyer has had the opportunity to respond, the Report will be made available to the Export Credit Agencies involved in the project. We envisage this will be early in the New Year. We have been informed by the contractors that the Resettlement Action Plan is expected to take longer, but timing is still uncertain.