Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of investments by state-owned companies owned by the People's Republic of China into Banjul Port with regards to their effect on (a) human rights and (b) corruption.
We understand that the African Development Bank is going to finance some essential repairs at Banjul Port but that no decision has yet been made on any wider development of the Port. More generally, it is in everyone’s interests that China’s investments abroad, and particularly in Africa, develop using international standards and global best practice, in order to attract international investment and to achieve sustainable, inclusive development outcomes, which benefit all countries concerned. We share concerns about some of China’s infrastructure investments and the UK is engaging to press for international standards on transparency, debt sustainability, environment impact including carbon emissions, and social impact.