Written question asked by Valerie Vaz (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 February 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 February 2011. It was answered by Alan Duncan (Conservative) on Monday, 14 February 2011 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Belize: Overseas Aid

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) projects and (b) organisations in Belize received funding from his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer: In the past five years, Belize has received debt cancellation from DFID under the Commonwealth Debt Initiative, as well as assistance through the Belize Strategic Fund (BSF). The BSF, which ended in July 2008, provided support to the Government of Belize to implement its Medium Term Economic Strategy and National Poverty Elimination Strategy and Action Plan. Support from the BSF was provided to the Auditor General's Office and Ministries of Economic Development, Finance and Human Development, as well as through a non-governmental organisation (NGO), The Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR).Belize currently benefits from DFID Caribbean's regional programme, including support to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre and the Caribbean Aid for Trade Trust Fund (CARTFund), through which a project at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MOFAFT) to facilitate the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in Belize has just been agreed. The MOFAFT also recently received support from DFID (through the Inter-American Development Bank) to develop its Aid for Trade Strategy.

Secondary information