Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to engage the private sector in sustainable investments in Africa and South Asia.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID is committed to supporting economic development in Africa and South Asia as it recognises the central importance of inclusive economic growth in eradicating poverty. One of DFID’s priorities is to partner with businesses investing in frontier markets in order to unlock economic opportunities that also have high development benefits.

DFID is working to create a business environment in Africa and South East Asia which is more conducive to attracting private sector capital; key to this is ensuring that investments are made in companies which have responsible business practices. Within DFID we ensure that investment vehicles like CDC and Private Infrastructure Development Group have investment codes with sustainability at their core. We also support internationally recognised Codes of Conduct like the UN Global Compact and organisations which aim to drive better reporting standards like the Global Reporting Initiative.