IB 6/20
Curtis Green,
(20) December, 1967.
13
You will recall the discussion at the Minist rial Meeting on Hong Kong, hold on 22 September, of Hong Kong's request tirt our overseas poets should supply information to the recently established Hong Kong Export redit Insurance [Currantes] Corporation. It was agreed that I should discuss
the proposal further during my visit to Hong Kong in
October, with a view to finding out more about their require- ments so that it might be determined how for it was racti- c blend desirable to meet them.
There have already been some long drawn out exchen es on this matter between our departments at official lovel. Your department concluded that we could not supply to Hong Kong material other than if the kind supplied to members of the Berno Union for security reasons and because of the additional work-load on staff in our oversens posts. If Hong Kong has to rely on such information as membership of the Berne Union produces, it will, we imagine, be very short of information of any kind about countries which are not members of the Union, apart from its inability to obtain objective economic reports of general nature on a much wider range of countries. As a dependent territory for whose external relations we are responsible, Hong Kong is not in a position to collect information from abroad except on a very limited b sis through comercial channels. It is our responsibility as the metropolitan country to do what we can to provide a Colony with the necess ry information and advice on which to be its exterml tr de policies.
TA: HON, GWYNNETH UNWO DY, LIP.
/During
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