asked the Minister of Overseas Development to what extent the Commonwealth Development Corporation's activities assist the Government's policy of providing aid to the poorest countries and of helping people in greatest need.

As a result of recent discussions between the corporation and the Ministry of Overseas Development, the CDC has decided that over the next five years it will increasingly seek to place its new commitments into the poorer countries and into renewable natural resource projects—that is to say, in agri- culture, forestry, and fisheries—benefiting people living in rural areas.