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de the made stedstiče ali kak
SECRET
DRAFT SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTER OF STATE
HONG KONG STERLING AGREEMENT
A provisional arrangement has been made for the Governor of ilong Kong and his Financial Secretary to see the Minister of State on Thursday, 9 August. He will probably not be seeing an FCO Minister. The visit has been arranged at the Governor's own urgent request to discuss the future of the sterling agreement as it applies to Hong Kong.
This submission seeks a decision on whether some special arrange- ment should be offered to Hong Kong and, depending of course on that decision, it suggests a line that the Minister of State might
take in discussion.
Sterling Agreements
S
present situation
The present sterling agreements with all countries expire on 24 September. No decision has yet been taken on whether we are prepared to let them lapse completely or whether we should try to renew them. Hitherto Ministers have merely decided that we should try to defuse the importance of the date of 24 September by opening up a discussion with the countries concerned. The Chancellor has sent a message to his colleagues asking for their views in general terms on the future of the agreements, and promising to write again before the meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Dar-es-Salaaam on 19 and 20 September. The plan is that a further
letter will be sent as soon as possible after the Chancellor returns from Holiday on 24 August with a view to giving the Commonwealth Finance Ministers time to have formed a preliminary view before the Dar-es-Salaaam meeting.
At present we cannot anticipate what the letter will say. The Chancellor will probably wish to consult the Prime Minister. Officials are however likely to recommend that the Chancellor should offer to continue the existing guarantee for a limited period