asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in establishing an international trust fund to provide Tuvalu with revenue to meet its recurrent expenditure.

An agreement to establish the trust fund was signed in Suva on 16 June by representatives of the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom. A copy was laid before the House on 25 June. After ratification, we intend to make a contribution to the fund of 8·5 million Australian dollars, approximately £3·86 million at current rates of exchange.