Written question asked by Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 23 October 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 November 2002. It was answered by Clare Short (Labour) on Monday, 4 November 2002 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) financial and (b) other assistance her Department (i) is providing and (ii) plans to provide to the Government of DRC; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) financial and (b) other assistance her Department (i) is providing and (ii) plans to provide to the Government of DRC; and if she will make a statement. [77553] Clare Short: To date UK assistance to DRC has focused on humanitarian and peace building assistance provided through the UN and international NGOs. We have had no direct Government-to-Government assistance programme. However once an inclusive transitional Government has been agreed, the UK will be willing to consider providing direct assistance to the Government of DRC. In the short term we are considering options for Quick start initiatives to demonstrate to the people of DRC the benefits of peace. In the medium term we plan to provide assistance in a number of sectors where we believe we can best add value such as disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and support to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process. We will also continue our humanitarian and peace building activities, and will support re-engagement in the DRC by the international financial institutions (IFIs).

Secondary information