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<p>The British Government supports the aims and objectives of the Quartet, which has
an important role in the Middle East Peace Process through its mandate to mobilise
international assistance to the Palestinians and develop plans to promote Palestinian
economic development.</p><p>Since its inception in 2007, the Office of the Quartet
Representative (OQR) has been funded by donations from Quartet members, including
the European Commission, EU Member States and the US. Donations are pooled in a trust
fund which is managed and administered by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).</p><p>In
November 2007 the then Secretary for State for International Development approved
a one-off payment of £400,000 from the UK to UNDP to help with the costs of setting
up the OQR. Other countries also contributed to the set up costs: Norway gave $1 million;
the European Commission $2 million; and the US provided IT equipment.</p><p>The UK
does not currently provide financial support to cover the costs of the OQR. The Department
for International Development has seconded staff to the OQR since 2007. Their costs
are as follows 2007: £62,850; 2008: £165,313; 2009: £204,830; 2010: £214,440; 2011:
£247,213; 2012: £183,462; 2013: £266,088; 2014: £115,738; and 2015: £26,875. The Foreign
and Commonwealth Office also seconded two full-time members of staff to the OQR from
2007 until 2013. We do not hold a record of the costs of these secondments.</p>
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