§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Madrid Initiative agreed in Madrid in June 2003; what role the(a) Royal Navy and (b) the RAF will play in implementing the Madrid Initiative; and what countries are participants. [122684]
§ Mr. HoonThe Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aims to reinforce the international effort against the trafficking in Weapons of Mass Destruction and related technology, with the goal of helping prevent these weapons falling into the wrong hands, such as countries of proliferation concern and terrorists. The United Kingdom strongly supports the aims of the PSI, and participated in a meeting on 12 June in Madrid. The318W initiative is at a very early stage, and no decisions have yet been taken on the involvement, if any, of armed forces. Any contribution by the Armed Forces of the UK would be consistent with their obligations under international law. The countries that attended the meeting in Madrid were: the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.