§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary and state for Trade and industry if she will make a statement on the trade relationship between Britain and(a) New Zealand and (b) Australia. [135512]
Ms HewitBritain has a healthy bilateral trade relationship with(a) New Zealand and (b) Australia From January to July 2003. bilateral trade in goods between the UK and New Zealand was worth £0.55 billion representing a 9 per cent. increase over the 564W same period of last year, and bilateral trade in goods between the UK and Australia was worth £2.3 billion representing a 1.8 per cent. increase over the same period of last year.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Institution for the Multilateral Protection of pan-African Commercial Transactions on UK companies investing in Africa; and if she will make a statement. [134447]
§ Ms HewittMy Department has not made an assessment of the impact of the Institution for the Multilateral Protection of pan-African Commercial Transactions (IMPACT) on direct investment in Africa. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development confirmed that such an assessment would be most appropriately carried out by the World Bank, who provided a US $5 million IDA loan for the establishment of the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (as IMPACT is also known) in 2001, and as such the initiative would be subject to EDA procedures for assessment and review.