Examination of Witness (Questions 140-142)
RT HON
TONY BLAIR,
MP
8 FEBRUARY 2005
Q140 Tony Baldry: Prime Minister, you
and I both know one of the key issues for development is volumes
of development aid. The Chancellor has been working his butt off
actually on this one, a Marshall Plan for Development as he calls
it, going up and down the country making speeches, working very
hard with other Finance Ministers, and that whole bit of work
on Africa has been completely blown out of the water by the United
States. Taylor did not even have the courtesy to turn up to the
G7 meeting. Even before he got there—
Mr Blair: Tony, the American position
on the IFF has been well established. No one was expecting the
Americans to change their position and sign up to IFF, and it
is not necessary for the Americans to do so to take the IFF forward.
There are different ways of—
Q141 Tony Baldry: You would at least
expect courtesy and for them to be willing to be part of the international
community in considering it. I am sorry.
Mr Blair: The issue which will
arise from the Africa Commission is increasing aid. How they do
that, for example whether the Americans decide to do it through
their own Millennium Challenge Account, whether you do it through
some of the ideas President Chirac has put forward, whether you
do that through the IFF, is an open question. Countries may find
different ways of getting to this. We do not really have time
to get into this discussion now about America but I do sometimes
think it is almost as if the American alliance was a sort of impediment
to us which we put up with. I happen to think the American alliance
serves this country well, and I think occasionally we should come
out and actually support and strongly defend it. There are disagreements,
but I think we have seen with the developments in the Middle East
peace process today why it is quite important we have it.
Q142 Chairman: Thank you, Prime Minister.
It has been quite a tour de force. Because of the bell
you still have not answered my question about the date of the
election, so will you drop me a note please?
Mr Blair: I will drop you a note
at some point!
Chairman: Thank you.
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