CONFIDENTIAL
FOREIGN POLICY: BRITAIN'S GLOBAL INTERESTS AND
PRIORITIES
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1. The purpose of all foreign policy, except where it
is avowedly altruistic, is to promote the security,
economic health and well-being of the people in whose
Some foreign policy initiatives
name it is conducted.
can directly extend economic opportunities, while
others have to be tailored so as not to overextend
economic resources.
2. Britain's international tasks can be divided into
those which we undertake jointly with others and those
which belong to Britain alone.
Joint Tasks
3. The overriding priority is to prevent world war
while protecting and promoting our democratic values.
This requires adequate defences, a determined public
posture, a coherent Western Alliance, the containment
of local or regional crises and an overall relationship
between East and West which controls friction and
prevents misunderstandings, especially in periods of
crisis. Sustained efforts in the various arms control
negotiations have an important part, to play in this
process, not least because of the need to ensure that
CONFIDENTIAL
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