§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Where the Africa Aerospace and Defence Exhibition will take place in September; whether the Defence Export Services Organisation and Trade Partners UK will be taking part; and what will be the total costs (including sponsorships for commercial companies) to public funds. [HL2751]
§ Lord Bach: The Africa Aerospace and Defence Exhibition will take place in Pretoria, South Africa between 18 and 22 September 2002. Such events provide an effective facility for the UK defence industry to demonstrate the range of its products to potential overseas customers. They also enable companies responsible for equipping our Armed Forces to see the capabilities and products of other nations' defence industries.
The Defence Export Services Organisation, which has prime responsibility for co-ordinating government support for the promotion of legitimate defence exports, will be taking an active part in the exhibition.
Trade Partners UK's role will be to provide funding in the form of grants to UK companies attending the event.
The costs to be met by public funds will not be known until nearer the event.