My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The House will have seen reporting of the visit to London by Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, on 19 to 24 June 2009. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister and I met Mr Tsvangirai yesterday and made clear our determination to support him in bringing to Zimbabwe the change demanded by ordinary Zimbabweans.

My right honourable friend the Prime Minister announced that the UK’s assistance for Zimbabwe will increase to £60 million this year, including an additional £4 million for food security and £1 million for textbooks for Zimbabwean school children. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Douglas Alexander) also met Mr Tsvangirai and set out how that pledge will include support for improvements to Zimbabwe’s water and sanitation infrastructure to reduce the likelihood of further cholera outbreaks, as well as resources to help work to tackle HIV and rebuild the health sector, livelihood support and food aid.

We want the inclusive Government to succeed, and to help them meet their commitments to reform outlined in the global political agreement. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister made clear, we are prepared to provide further support to help rebuild Zimbabwe should there be further progress by the Zimbabwean Government in meeting their commitments to deliver political and economic reform. The Zimbabwean Government have made some progress in delivering reform, notably on the economic front, but much more needs to be done to deliver improved services and security to ordinary people. This includes work to implement IMF recommendations and reform the Central Bank; to reform the constitution as a prelude to new elections; to promote respect for human rights, freedom of the media and the repeal of repressive legislation; and to stop land seizures.

The southern African region has a key role to play in supporting reform in Zimbabwe. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister signalled yesterday our wish to work closely with South Africa, and I look forward to working with the new South African Administration. My noble friend Lord Malloch-Brown is in regular touch with Ministers from the Southern African Development Community, a number of whom he met this month in Cape Town.

We will continue to do what we can to support Zimbabwe and its neighbours in seizing this historic opportunity for reform in Zimbabwe, and to build on the positive momentum generated by Morgan Tsvangirai’s visit to work with reformers to make progress on key issues.