§ Baroness Warwick of Undercliffeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What the outcome was of the Development Council held on 30 May. [HL4725]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)At its meeting on 30 May, the Development Council, by consensus:
agreed conclusions on the external dimension of EU Sustainable Development Strategy and preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development;
agreed procedural conclusions welcoming a proposal to define a common EU approach to democracy and governance in developing countries;
debated the reform of EC development assistance and the programme of action 2002;
agreed a declaration reaffirming its support for the work of UNFPA; and
agreed joint resolutions with member states on education and training in the context of poverty reduction in developing countries; and on health and poverty reduction in developing countries; a resolution on water management in developing countries; conclusions on improving EU development response towards ACP crisis and conflict affected countries, and on information and communication technologies in development; and declarations on the World Food Summit, and on the food crisis in southern Africa.
There were also informal discussions of recent developments in Afghanistan and Sudan.