Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there is still a development case for bilateral aid for India and Turkey; and whether they have plans to end bilateral aid to those, and similar, countries.

Baroness Verma

The UK does not have a bilateral aid programme in Turkey. We help Turkey address the consequences of the Syria crisis and migration challenges as the country hosts the highest number of refugees in the world, by providing support to refugees in Turkey, jointly with international partners.

The UK’s bilateral aid programme in India has changed with India’s development. A middle-income country and major trading partner, India is still home to one third of the world’s poorest people. The UK ceased its traditional aid programme to India in 2015, and our support now focuses on promoting inclusive economic development, both reducing poverty and strengthening UK trade and investment opportunities.