UN Department
HKK 24-3/1
ما
Jr.5
cc Mr Cortazzi
Mr Quantrill Mr Smith
593
INDO-CHINA REFUGEES
The Italian Minister, Mr Incisa, called this afternoon to say that the Italian Foreign Ministry had had the Indonesian invitation to the Jakarta meeting on 15/16 May and sought our views. I described the invitation and said that though HM Ambassador in Jakarta would attend, he would not have any firm official commit- ment to offer on offtake of refugees from the Island, nor, I thought, would he be in a position to offer specific financial commitments. I then described the Hong Kong aspect in the terms of my teleletter of 24 April to Mr O'Brien and subsequent correspondence, stressing that if Hong Kong was excluded it would be hard to accept the Island as a truly international project. Mr Incisa agreed, and took note when I suggested that it would be helpful for the Italian representative at the meeting to back up the UK if necessary. Mr Incisa added that hitherto Italy had been a country of emigration, and not immigration, but there was some pressure now on the authorities to accept some Vietnamese; though as the Italian Government was now approaching a general election he doubted very much if any firm decisions would emerge in the next few months.
30 April 1979
سارے
No Williamson J.. PA
D F Murray