Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:23 am on 14 September 2023.
Lord Purvis of Tweed
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (International Trade), Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (International Development), Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)
11:23,
14 September 2023
My Lords, since this is the first time I have asked the Minister a question, I welcome him to his brief. For partnerships to be effective, does he agree that we need reliable and sustainable relationships? It is regrettable that in eight years of this Government there have been eight Ministers for Africa, and the last time a British Prime Minister made a bilateral visit to an African nation was five years ago. At that time, Theresa May promised that
“by 2022, I want the UK to be the G7’s number one investor in Africa”.
It is not. We have broken that promise. Does the Minister agree that, if we are to have partnerships, we first need to keep our promises?
