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CONFIDENTIAL
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DSR 11C
which countries from both North and South see value
Pakistan wants to rejoin;
on independence is of
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most former colonies join
use given that North/South
issues are likely to remain a preoccupation of Britain
and the West for the foreseeable future.
iii) The Commonwealth includes most Third World countries
(iv)
(other than OPEC countries) in which we have significant
economic and political interests about 75% of our
bilateral aid programme goes to the Commonwealth,
we are one of the principal exporters to most Commonwealt
and the Commonwealth tradition probably
countries
gives us better access to their governments than we would
otherwise enjoy. It does not guarantee good access,
and it does not necessarily prevent the expression of
hostility towards us (eg. Malaysia), but on balance it
probably gives us an edge over our political (mostly
Eastern bloc) and commercial (mostly Western) competitors.
It is not possible however to demonstrate any direct
commercial advantage deriving from the Commonwealth,
as distinct from our good bilateral relations with
individual Commonwealth countries.
Commonwealth meetings give us an opportunity to put
across our views on important issues to Third World
countries in a more informal and relaxed atmosphere than
at the UN, (even though the informality of Commonwealth
gatherings is less than it was , and to learn something
of others' views. The extent to which this exchange of
views is of value to us varies in different Commonwealth
fora. It has had value at recent CHOGMS on Zimbabwe
in Lusaka, and on Namibia in Melbourne and at recent
health Ministers meetings, which precede WHO Conferences
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