§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total value was of funding allocated to the reduction of opium poppy output in Afghanistan in each of the last three years; and what proportion came from(a) UK funds, (b) EU funds and (c) other sources. [118588]
§ Mr. Mike O'Brien[holding answer 10 June 2003]: The total cost of reducing drugs production cannot be clearly separated from broader development programmes, as development assistance helps to create the conditions in which viable alternatives to poppy cultivation can emerge.
The Tokyo Reconstruction Conference for Afghanistan was held in January 2002. At the conference, a total of £2.7 billion was pledged over five years for development, of which the UK pledged £200 million and the EU pledged £700 million.
There was no UK assistance in either 2000 or 2001 when the Taliban were in power. In 2002, the UK disbursed £70 million on development assistance in Afghanistan and £24 million on law enforcement. The EU spent £200 million on development assistance. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime spent £5 million on programme activity.