§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the statement made by the British Ambassador to Sudan, on 27 April 2004, welcoming the deepening and extension of commercial and trading opportunities with the Government of Sudan, accurately represents their policy. [HL773]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)We fully support comments made by our British Ambassador to Sudan at Her Majesty the Queen's birthday party on 27 April 2004.
As he made clear, the UK is committed to helping the Sudanese achieve a sustainable peace in Sudan, which will open the way for a reduction in poverty, better education and health facilities and Sudan's eventual and progressive re-integration into the international community, including commerce and trade links.
However, as the ambassador also made clear, the signing of the peace agreement is only the start of the peace process. Implementing the agreement will be hard work. We have repeatedly made clear to the Government of Sudan that we stand ready to support them in this, but full development assistance must be dependent upon substantial progress on Darfur.