---

Latin America

My Lords, my thanks also go to the noble Viscount, not only for his kind personal remarks but also for his splendid introduction. It is great to see him back on the red Benches. He still waved the flag, or flags, for the countries of Latin America during his gap period. Like him, I have spoken in numerous debates on Latin America, and one hates to be repetitious, even when many of the facts bear repetition. I fully support his concerns about the Foreign Office’s restructuring and resources, as well as those raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Symons. I add, for the umpteenth time, that our cultural, historic and trading links with the region are of great value and importance and are well worth preserving. The Government’s changed priorities and focus on the Far East and Middle East may be understandable, but we are missing a trick. It is interesting that China, our new great focus for trade and investment, is not missing it. The noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, has already referred to this. While we are pulling out of government-supported schemes, and the CBI is faithfully backing the Government’s new trade priorities, China is moving in with investment as well as trade, and the political links that flow from the visits of the president of China and other senior government figures. First, Latin American countries are very much a part of the global village. Only this morning there was a reference on the radio to Latin American troops in Afghanistan. They also serve in Iraq, Cyprus and other parts of the world, under the blue helmets of the United Nations. Distinguished lawyers from Latin America function as judges and arbitrators in global institutions, and many individuals from the 19 countries of the region play valuable roles in the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. As has been said, regional organisations such as NAFTA, Mercosur, and even the Andean community with its population of 130 million, have a significant impact on the world stage. Secondly, the region is rich in resources, as has already been said. My noble friend Lord Walker has already referred to agriculture and other primary products. Oil and gas have high visibility at the moment because of oil prices and the question marks over supplies from the Middle East and Russia, even before the new Bolivian president hit the headlines more recently. However, there are other valuable commodities and resources—chemicals, precious metals, and, above all, a resource of ever-increasing importance in our global world: water. After Canada, Venezuela has the second largest resources of sweet water in the world. Even little Paraguay exports water in bulk carriers to the Gulf. The Amazon River is known to many. It drains one-third of south America and is 10 times bigger than the next biggest river in the world, with all that that means for communications, fish supplies and irrigation. Iguac””u Falls, measuring one and a half miles across, is one of the widest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world. As well as being a tourist attraction, it is a source of energy and water. I trust that our policies will ensure that those countries preserve and conserve the very precious commodity of water which is so much lacked in other parts of the world. I trust your Lordships will agree that all of those points, as well as all that has been said by other noble Lords, illustrate that not only Latin America as a region but the individual countries in their own right, is a truly global player. Thirdly, democracy in Latin America, a subject which has already been touched on, is working and evolving, perhaps differently from other parts of the world. Recent events in Bolivia, for example, followed a proper constitutional process. Just over a year ago, when President Mesa was forced to resign and his next in line, the president of the Senate, Senator Vaca Diez, was also unable to take up the post, President Eduardo Rodriguez, president of the Supreme Court, took over as interim president. He presided over the country for the period leading to elections, which took place at the proper time and with international observers and produced a conclusive result. That is very good news. If democracy is producing leaders who are more representative of the indigenous people and who seek to distribute more evenly the wealth that exists, we should all welcome it. In that context, the British branch of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is playing a very full part in establishing good parliamentary relations between Latin American countries and ourselves. I was fortunate to go on a visit to central America. The noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, recently went to Peru. We are due to have a visit from Venezuelan parliamentarians shortly. Colombian parliamentarians were here late last year. That is all good news. The all-party group on Latin America, to which the noble Viscount referred, is also doing a terrific job. I am delighted that President Chavez of Venezuela will visit London again in the near future. I hope that President Morales of Bolivia will also be invited, especially in view of British interests in oil and gas industries, which we hope will survive the current scenario. Mention has already been made of the very successful visit of President Lula. I should also like to point to the recent visit of President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic. It is one of the smallest Latin America countries, but on that visit many new business relationships and commercial opportunities were forged. So there is and has been plenty of action and activity. There is also much more to be said, for example, about educational links, the downsizing of British Council operations, the reduction in Chevening scholarships, environmental issues and DfID’s role not just in the closure of the Peru project but in all its work in central America. As other noble Lords have said, a bright spot in all this is the enthusiasm and interest of Ministers such as the noble Lord, Lord Triesman, from whom we will be hearing, and his colleague at DfID, Gareth Thomas. I finish by saying that I had always hoped that the United Kingdom, because of its special relationship which the noble Viscount outlined at the outset, should be a bridge between Europe and Latin America. I hope that the Minister will be able to reassure us that together with Spain and Portugal we shall continue to build that bridge with all the enthusiasm and resources we can muster.