Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Zimbabwean counterpart on the (a) economic and (b) humanitarian situation in that country.

The UK believes that the economic reforms agreed to by the Zimbabwean Government as part of the arrears clearance dialogue remain essential for improving Zimbabwe's long term economic trajectory. The UK is therefore engaging constructively on the Zimbabwe arrears clearance dialogue led by African Development Bank President Adesina and former Mozambican President Chissano. I (Deputy Foreign Minister) recently met Zimbabwe Finance Minister Ncube at the World Bank Spring Meetings to discuss the dialogue. I also regularly speak to a range of ministers and experts across Southern Africa on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe and in Southern Africa, where we continue to provide support following the recent declaration of drought, including through Africa Risk Capacity, a UK-supported African Union-led disaster risk insurance mechanism.