To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development aid has been made available in each of the last two years to Eritrea. [98806]

Bilaterally we provided £788,000 in 2002 and £839,000 in 2001. These funds were spent on meeting humanitarian needs and also on a small grants scheme. In addition we contributed 20 per cent. of EC spending, which in 2000, the most recent year that we have figures available for, was a UK contribution of £700,000.In addition we provided £500,000 in 2002 and £250,000 in 2001 to the UN Trust Fund for the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia.The UK does not have a development partnership with Eritrea. We will continue to make a contribution to meeting urgent humanitarian needs, and to the consolidation of the peace process. We will also continue to assess the scope for helping with economic and political reform.