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28 Jan 2003 : Column 761W—continued

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH

BG Group

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library copies of the reports which were compiled by the secondee from BG Group to the British Embassy in Indonesia in 2001 on the strengthening of official organisations in that country. [89461]

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Mr. Rammell: I have today asked for this report to be placed in the Library of the House.

Brazil

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek an early meeting with the Government of President Lula of Brazil to discuss debt and environmental issues. [93116]

Mr. Rammell: During my visit to Brazil from 14–18 December I discussed various issues, including the economy and environment, with Ministers-designate of President Lula's future Government. We hope to build on these discussions through a series of senior bilateral exchanges early this year. We have invited President Lula to make an early visit to the UK.

Cuba

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the Government of the USA on its policies on trade between UK companies and Cuba. [91680]

Mr. Rammell: Our Embassy in Washington and Ministers and officials in the FCO and the Department of Trade and Industry frequently discuss a range of trade issues with their US counterparts. These include from time to time, trade with Cuba in the context of the US Helms-Burton legislation. The UK and the EU oppose this legislation because of its extraterritorial effect.

Diplomatic Staff

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the complement was of diplomatic staff in each of the Arabic-speaking capitals in the Middle East in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [92934]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The table shows the number of UK-based staff in our Middle East posts from 1990. The figures include all those staff whose salaries are paid by the FCO and other Government Departments.

CountryPost1990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002
SyriaDamascus8141717171918171717171414
LebanonBeirut6676777788898
JordanAmman33343433333433323131312623
IraqBaghdad0000000000000
Saudi ArabiaRiyadh38383837363636353433332925
YemenSana'a8888987899988
OmanMuscat20191819191616161717171615
UAEAbu Dhabi19191818171818181818181513
UAEDubai26262525222122232323231915
QatarDoha1010999910101010101111
KuwaitKuwait23232222201919191919191716
BahrainBahrain13131313131313131313131213
EgyptCairo39373737363432343435323732

Energy Supplies (Security)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he intends to take to bolster the security of energy supplies. [92176]

Mr. Rammell: Energy security is a key element of energy policy, security of energy supplies is one of the issues being looked at in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Government Payments

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what payments

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have been made to (a) Turkey, (b) Syria and (c) Jordan by the Government in each of the last three years; for what purpose; and if he will make a statement. [87412]

Mr. Straw: Government funding for projects in the above countries for the last three years totals:

£
(a) Turkey6,972,416
(b) Syria429,800
(c) Jordan21,078,129

We have made no direct financial payments to these Governments, rather we have provided services in the form of training, expertise and equipment. These figures are approximate and may not be exhaustive. A breakdown of expenditure is set out as follows:

Breakdown of Expenditure

(a) Turkey

Funds: Purpose—to help Turkey meet the Copenhagen Political Criteria and to help Turkey address issues of importance to the UK. These include:


Turkey

£
EU Action Plan
2000–01n/a
2001–02149,454
2002–03(17)150,000
HRPF
2000–01306,333
2001–02311,409
2002–03167,708
DAF Allocation
2000–01571,000
2001–02608,000
2002–03356,000
GCPF
2000–01n/a
2001–02(18)156,640
2002–03(17)169,700
DCF
2000–01108,515
2001–02672,690
2002–03(19)261,967

(17) Allocated

(18) Spent

(19) This does not include a UNDCP amount of £550,000 which may be allocated to Turkey projects.


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There is no Department for International Development (DfID) programme in Turkey however DfID did provide £1.5 million in humanitarian assistance in 1999–2000 following a major earthquake and £283,000 in 2000–01.

(b) Syria

Our Embassy in Damascus runs a DfID-funded Small Grants Scheme. The FCO runs small projects in Syria under the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. We also fund Chevening Scholarship and sponsored visits programmes.

Syria

£
DfID
1999–2000119,000
2000–0175,000
2001–0280,000
GCPF (formerly ASSIST)
1999–200018,880
2000–0150,000
2001–0227,000

Bilateral defence relations with Syria have improved. Over the past two years, the MOD has established a programme of assistance with the Syrians worth about £30,000 annually. This money is spent on funding Syrian candidates on courses such as English Language Training.

(c) Jordan

DfID's support to Jordan is set out in the table. This consists of debt relief, aid trade provision and technical assistance. The FCO funds small projects under the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. We also fund Chevening Scholarship, sponsored visits programmes and human rights projects.

The MOD has an extensive bilateral programme of assistance with Jordan costing in the region of £400,000 annually. These funds are spent on providing course places to the Jordanian Armed Forces and in-country training. Their largest project to date with the Jordanians was the gifting of Challenger I Tanks, a project that began in August 1999 and is ongoing. This was a gift from the UK Government to the Jordanian Government, not a direct payment.

Jordan

£
DfID
1999–20006,310,000
2000–016,298,000
200–026,433,000
GCPF (formerly ASSIST)
1999–2000190,031
2000–01220,000
200–02427,098

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I will write the right hon. Member with more details and place a copy in the Library.

Heritage Assets

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sales of heritage assets and antique assets have been made by his Department since May 1997; if he will list such assets; and if he will estimate the total sales proceeds. [92375]

Mr. Rammell: The FCO holds very few heritage assets. We do however own many antiques and other valuable items that are used as working, operational, assets. The only such items that we have sold since 1997 have been: one antique carpet, one tea table, three armchairs, one sofa, one lectern, one bookcase, one dining table. The total sales proceeds after commission was £21,424.


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