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Debate on the Address

My Lords, I will certainly answer the noble Lord. Whether it will meet his standard of clarity, he will have to judge. Given that the British Government are involved in export promotion across many sectors, not just the defence sector, there was a feeling that it would be a better alignment to relocate it with the successor ministry to the Department of Trade and Industry, BERR, than to keep it where it was. The plans are now to be developed during the remainder of this year for implementation next year, and I have no doubt that there will be an opportunity for further consultation on the exact arrangements going forward. In answer to a question that I was asked earlier, the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, has inherited the same responsibilities at the MoD as the noble Lord, Lord Drayson, had. She has exactly the same title—Minister for Defence Equipment and Support—and therefore the same responsibilities. I should also note that, when I expressed condolences to Mrs Gentle, I should have made it clear that she is not the fusilier’s widow but his mother. Perhaps noble Lords will indulge me for just a couple more minutes so I can say a word on Africa and Afghanistan. With regard to development in Afghanistan, which was raised by several noble Lords, I confirm that DfID considers us to be off-track for the achievement of all the MDGs in Afghanistan by 2015. However, the country remains the fifth poorest in the world. There is a huge development challenge ahead of us. Despite the remarkable achievements in school enrolment and other successes that have been mentioned, none of us should underestimate the fact that, in addition to the problems of insurgency and opium production that it faces, Afghanistan is a very poor country. We have discussed opium production, and we will do so many times more. I cannot do it justice tonight, but I expect noble Lords to challenge me on it all the way as we go forward. The Foreign Secretary made a Statement on Pakistan in another place today. We have laid out clear conditions that we expect General Musharraf to meet: that he restores certainty that elections will take place in January, that he removes his uniform by 15 November, that he allows a free media again to operate, and that all political prisoners, including lawyers, are released. We hope that that will be the basis of a discussion in CMAG, the core group that will meet on Monday, and of conditions laid down by the whole Commonwealth to Pakistan. Pakistan’s compliance will undoubtedly be a matter for discussion when we meet in Uganda. We will continue to press on that issue. It is six weeks since the demonstrations in Burma. There is a danger that they are already slipping from the front pages. It is incumbent on all of us in this House to make sure that we keep up public pressure on this issue, because the ability to say, ““This problem is not going away; it is not going to slip again out of public sight””, is critical to securing Asian co-operation. I cannot do justice to Africa, but I challenge the argument that we have somehow forgotten it. Prominent reference to the MDGs and poverty reduction was made in the gracious Speech. The Prime Minister has declared an MDG emergency. Dramatic increases in aid volume were in the new CSR. We are on track to achieve by 2013 a level of 0.7 per cent of British GDP for foreign aid. We are again the world’s second-largest bilateral donor. All those are indicators that we remain deeply committed to both poverty reduction and conflict resolution in Africa. I fear that there is not the time to discuss the situations in northern Uganda, the DRC or Sudan, all of which were raised. I shall communicate in writing with all those who raised them. That we do not have time tonight to discuss those issues is not for want of respect for them, but rather a comment on just how large was the Chinese banquet that your Lordships fed me.