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<p>Officials from DFID are in regular contact with their opposite numbers in the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO). ECHO has committed over £144 million to date in response to the Sahel crisis.</p><p>Denmark held the presidency of the Council of Ministers from January 2012 up to the end of last month. The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr O'Brien), has spoken to representatives of the Danish Government about the Sahel crisis in February and May 2012. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), has spoken to Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, whose mandate includes ECHO. We have not yet spoken to the Government of Cyprus, the new President of the Council of Ministers.</p><p>The UK has been generous in its commitment to the Sahel response, but we firmly believe that a joint donor effort is needed to address the deepening crisis. UK Ministers and officials have also been calling on other donors around Europe and elsewhere to ensure that they are also contributing their fair share.</p> |