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Afghanistan

My Lords, I am very interested in what the noble Baroness says. She will know from meeting those involved in counternarcotics that 13 provinces are poppy-free—an increase from six in 2006, so some progress is being made. The noble Baroness’s points about corruption in Afghanistan are well made. There are serious difficulties. One piece of work within the EU, initially led by the Italians, looked at how one can deal with issues of corruption. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said in his Statement, we need to look carefully at the role of the courts and seek to bring to justice high-profile drug dealers. We need to send the kind of messages that we have spurred on our colleagues in other parts of the world to send, not only to make the point but to ensure that people can see that those who deserve it are brought to justice. The noble Baroness is absolutely right to say that this area of work will take some time and we are working closely with European Union colleagues and the United States to ensure that we can achieve our aims. We are also giving support in this area to the police forces and the courts system.