Even
Dr. Gamas
not Swe!
businessmen had made plans to move their operations to Singapore.
Lady Young said that we recognised that the negotiations would be
difficult. The Governor of Hong Kong was playing a full part and we
were keeping EXCO informed, The important thing was that the talks were continuing. Dr Gama said that the position of Macao was
different from that of Hong Kong in that Portugal did not consider it
a colony. According to the Constitution, Macao did not belong to
Portugal (in answer to a query his officials pointed out that
this was not strictly accurate): it was defined as a territory under
Portuguese administration. In a sense this definition was a condition for establishing diplomatic relations with China. They had no wish
for a serious disagreement with the Chinese. Mr Byatt suggested that
he might follow up with the Portuguese Foreign Ministry on the discussion
in New York. Lady Young thought that this would be helpful. Dr Gama
undertook to brief the Embassy on his meeting with the Chinese Foreign
Minister,
9. In concluding the meeting Lady Young thanked Dr Gama for
Portugal's support over the Falklands. We were most grateful to
them for abstaining on the Falklands Resolution at the General
Assembly last year and happy that they intended to do so again this
year. Dr Gama said that this should be seen as a mark of respect
for Portugal's oldest ally; in some ways Portugal's wider interests
would have been better served by a vote in favour of the resolution.
The Portuguese community in Argentina had had a hard time during the
fighting for the Falklands. Lady Young drew attention to the position
of the British Community in Argentina. We wanted better relations with Buenos Aires but the Argentine government had not yet even declared a cessation of hostilities.
10. The meeting ended at 12.50pm.
/Distribution: