Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Mr. Moore
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2009, Official Report, column 611W, on the Middle East: peace negotiations, whether his Department plans to second further staff to support the Quartet's Special Envoy from January 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Alexander
The Department for International Development does not have plans to second further staff after January 2010.

Mr. Moore
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Quartet Special Envoy, Tony Blair on the development of the Palestinian Territories; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Alexander
The Department for International Development (DFID) continues to support the work of the Quartet Representative, Tony Blair. He is making a strong contribution to Palestinian state building and economic growth which has been commended by the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee.

The Quartet Envoy’s work to relieve movement and access restrictions by acting as a focal point for international lobbying on these issues has been particularly important. The recent decision by the Israeli Government to remove 35 obstacles in the West Bank has already cut some journey times by half; and the IMF has predicted that the West Bank may see economic growth of 7 per cent. in 2009 should these movement and access constraints continue to be lifted.

The Quartet Representative has also made significant progress in mobilising funding for development projects from Arab and Western donors and has played a leading role in the high level investment conferences that took place in London and Bethlehem in 2008.