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CONFIDENTIAL
Note for the Record
بازم
Lord Brown telephoned Lord Shepherd this afternoon
Lasturb 18 with reference to the letter of 9 January about the
Hong Kong tunnel. He said that his union was that the Societe Generale had not approached COFACE as yet and his guess was that the news relayed both by Mr. Royle and Hong Kong about the stage reached in negotiations was very wide of the mark. After a short discussion about the desirability and the commercial attractiveness of the project, Lord Brown said that if we could make out a case, and the Government agreed that it was in the national interest for E.C.G.D. to offer export guarantees on terms more favourable than those it was rumoured the French would offer, the Board of Trade would have no objection. But he foresaw Treasury objections.
2. Lord Brown expressed the view that really it was most important to ensure that we had all the relevant information at our finger tips before deciding on the next move. He urged that no direct approach should be made by Lord Shepherd to the Prime Minister until clear informa- tion was available. It was, therefore, agreed that the return of Mr. Whittaker from Paris early next week should be awaited before deciding on the next move. Lord Shepherd urged that the warning expressed in the sixth paragraph of his letter of 9 January should be emphasised in the briefing of Mr. Whittaker.
CONFIDENTIAL
(C.H.Godden) 10 January, 1969