§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place a copy of(a) notes of telephone conversations and (b) copies of correspondence between her and Andrew Natsios of the United States Agency for International Development in the Library. [116268]
§ Ms HewittIn March I spoke on the telephone with Andrew Natsios and also wrote to him. The note of that conversation and the letter cannot be placed in the Library since they contain commercially confidential information. However I can let the hon. Member know that I used the telephone conversation and my letter to reinforce my strong wish that UK companies should be given the opportunity to play a full role in reconstruction work in Iraq. I gave Mr. Natsios details of British companies that have relevant experience and were interested in working in Iraq, together with details of companies who had direct experience of working in Iraq through the Oil for Food programme and/or before sanctions were imposed. Mr. Natsios confirmed that he would welcome the involvement of British companies and that he had already agreed to waive the normal requirement that only US companies might bid for work funded by the US Agency for International Development.