§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the status of the New Africa Initiative with respect to Ethiopia. [17719]
§ Clare ShortThe New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), as the New African Initiative is now known, is an Africa-wide initiative, that does not focus on specific countries. Ethiopia is one of the 17 members of the NEPAD implementation committee, and therefore takes a full part in NEPAD activities. NEPAD has set up teams to work on five areas, which are capacity-building peace and security, economic and corporate governance, infrastructure, central bank and standards, and agriculture and market access. Work on these areas should bring benefits to Ethiopia, as it will to other countries in Africa that are part of NEPAD.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on bilateral agreements between the UK and Ethiopia. [17720]
§ Clare ShortWe are currently exploring how to engage most effectively in a development partnership with Ethiopia, where the overall objective of our assistance will be to support the Government of Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy. We will discuss plans to seek agreement with the Ethiopian Government when we hold development talks early in the new year.