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Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Purvis of Tweed (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 14 September 2023.

Africa: Partnerships

Question

My Lords, since this is the first time I have asked the Minister a question, I welcome him to his brief. For partnerships to be effective, does he agree that we need reliable and sustainable relationships? It is regrettable that in eight years of this Government there have been eight Ministers for Africa, and the last time a British Prime Minister made a bilateral visit to an African nation was five years ago. At that time, Theresa May promised that

“by 2022, I want the UK to be the G7’s number one investor in Africa”.

It is not. We have broken that promise. Does the Minister agree that, if we are to have partnerships, we first need to keep our promises?

Answer

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, for his opening comments. I agree that it is vitally important that strong partnerships are established, and lasting relationships built. On trade, where partnerships are very strong, UK export finance has provided more than £3.5 billion for projects in Africa since 2020. The UK was the first non-African country to sign an agreement with the African continental free trade area. This is a signal of our readiness to generate new trade and investment opportunities for Africa and for UK business. The Prime Minister will personally host the UK-Africa summit, which aims to create opportunities for mutual prosperity, inclusive growth and job creation.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
832 c1106 
Session
2022-23
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Africa Foreign relations
Link
View this Oral question on hansard.parliament.uk