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Procurement

Volume 973: debated on Friday 16 November 1979

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asked the Secretary of State for Defence what memoranda of understanding on defence procurement projects are currently in force; and if he will indicate, in each case, the foreign Government or Governments involved, the date of signature of the agreement concerned, and the period of its validity.

Since major international defence co-operation started in the 1960s, all our collaborative defence projects have been covered by memoranda of understanding. The memorandum which my right hon. Friend signed last month in Hamburg with his French and German colleagues, covering work on future anti-tank missile systems, is one of the most recent.Each main phase of the project may require a separate MOU. There are also memoranda with some other countries covering general procurement arrangements. Additionally, major purchases of equipment from abroad and some of our own defence sales will also involve negotiation of an MOU.It is not our practice to publish all these separate arrangements in detail, but if there is any particular arrangement about which my hon. Friend would like to write to me I will certainly consider it.