§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the(a) timescale and (b) process are for the release of her Department's pledged funds to Burundi; and if she will make a statement. [103112]
§ Clare ShortAt the most recent Donors Roundtable Meeting on Burundi held in Geneva last November 2002 we reconfirmed that although the UK would not become a substantial bilateral donor to Burundi we would play our part in support of others, particularly the multilateral agencies. This includes continuing our existing bilateral assistance (mainly humanitarian assistance, work with the media, HIV/AIDS prevention and peace building). We also agreed to consider an additional contribution of US$1 million to the World Bank Multilateral Debt Trust Fund. We are in the process of releasing these funds to the World bank. Our total support to Burundi in the current financial year will be some £2.2 million.