Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38516/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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More than six weeks after the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, and the Tsvangirai and Mutambara factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), there has still been no agreement on forming a Government, and the situation in Zimbabwe remains deeply worrying. Although political violence has diminished, it has not stopped. The rate of inflation is almost impossible to calculate, but has now reached unimaginable levels. Coupled with this, unstable exchange rates have caused the Zimbabwe dollar to lose credibility and value as a trading currency. Zimbabweans are unwilling to do business in their local currency, and increasingly use foreign denominated currencies, principally the US dollar and the South African rand, for trading. Transactions such as grocery purchases, property sales and rentals, legal fees and fuel sales, among others, officially or unofficially now require settlement in foreign currency. The World Food Programme estimates that 5.1 million people will require food assistance by January 2009.

The EU is continuing to act on its concern for the suffering of the ordinary people of Zimbabwe at this very difficult time. The European Commission has allocated an additional €10 million in relief assistance for people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, while Irish aid to the affected people for the period 2006 to 2008 (to date) amounts to approx €25m.

The failure of the two sides to reach a deal on 27 October on the allocation of Ministries is extremely disappointing. The issue has been referred to a full summit meeting of the South African Development Community (SADC). This summit has been set for 9 November in South Africa. Given the disappointing rate of progress in the talks on forming a Transition Government, I do not believe that my colleagues and I will be in a position to lift the EU restrictive measures on the Zimbabwean leadership when we next meet on 10 November. We will of course review what we can do to assist our African partners in bringing the ongoing negotiations to a successful conclusion. It is Zimbabwe's neighbours, and above all South Africa and other members of the South African Development Community (SADC) which have the greatest potential influence and leverage, and therefore the greatest responsibility to act. I have instructed our Ambassadors in SADC countries to convey our concerns to the authorities in these countries.

EU Foreign Ministers stated after our meeting of 13 October that the EU stands ready to support a transitional government which is taking steps to restore democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. That commitment stands, and the EU very much hopes that the forthcoming SADC summit will result in the formation of a government of national unity which is credible and reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people, as expressed at the 29 March elections. Ireland supports a co-ordinated international approach to addressing Zimbabwe's problems, once an administration is in place in Harare which is committed to working with the international community to rebuild the country economically and politically.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38517/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Rwanda is one of the most stable countries in the Great Lakes region. It has made enormous progress in establishing peace, security and good governance since the genocide of 1994. Rwanda's stability is underpinned by strong levels of economic growth and it has won praise from international donors for its innovative approach to development.

On 15 September last the country held its second parliamentary elections since the genocide, and these were won overwhelmingly by the ruling coalition, which is led by President Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). An EU election observation mission, in which three Irish observers participated, deemed the elections to have been generally free and fair. The mission described the elections as an important step in the democratic development of the country. I join the mission in welcoming the positive example that Rwanda has shown in electing the world's first female majority parliament.

In November 2007, the governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed the Nairobi agreement, aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries, and jointly tackling the problem of the FDLR, an extremist Hutu militia, which includes many Rwandans who fled the country after participating in the genocide. This was seen as a positive step in normalising the traditionally difficult relations between the two countries. However, the upsurge in violence in the North Kivu province of DRC since late August between the DRC army and the CNDP, a Tutsi-aligned militia, has re-ignited Rwanda-DRC tensions. Both countries have accused each other of incursions into their respective territories, and the UN has expressed serious concern over the reported exchange of heavy weapons fire across the DRC-Rwanda border in North Kivu. While North Kivu has borne the brunt of the humanitarian crisis, I will continue to monitor closely the situation in Rwanda, as the proximity of the fighting to the Rwandan border poses a risk of a spill-over of both the violence and the humanitarian crisis.

There is a consensus in the international community that only the full implementation of the Nairobi agreement can bring long-term stability to the Great Lakes region. To this end, Ireland fully supports the excellent work of the EU's Special Representative to the Great Lakes, Roeland van de Geer, who has been most active in encouraging dialogue between the governments of DRC and Rwanda. Last week, the EU Commissioner for Development, Louis Michel, made an emergency visit to Kinshasa and Kigali, and urged the Presidents of both countries to find a diplomatic solution to the current crisis. My British and French counterparts, David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner, have also been engaged in vigorous diplomatic efforts over the past week, including a visit to Rwanda, where they met with President Kagame. Thanks largely to EU pressure, the governments of Rwanda and DRC will meet for peace talks in Kenya this week, in which the African Union and the EU will also participate.

In addition, Ireland and the EU will continue to strongly support UN mediation efforts. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has dispatched a senior envoy to both Rwanda and DRC, while MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in DRC, has presented an emergency disengagement plan to all sides in the North Kivu crisis. I join the UN in urging the governments of Rwanda and DRC to convince or compel all sides to accept the plan.

African leadership will be vitally important in bringing the governments of Rwanda and DRC back to the negotiating table. South Africa in particular, which has played a key role in the Great Lakes peace process to date, and which enjoys good relations with both Kigali and Kinshasa, will be an important partner for the EU in ensuring the future stability of the region.

Ireland will continue to support Rwanda's development through the provision of overseas development aid and bilateral co-operation. Irish Aid funding to the country since 2006 amounts to more than €8 million.