CONFIDENTIAL
11. In the formal sessions, the main domestic messages I received
were:-
a) the scarcity of resources. Anecdotal evidence ranged from
an Ambassador himself typing local briefing notes for a visiting
Minister to small commercial sections spending so much time on
visiting businessmen and trade missions that they had no chance
to get out and tour the country looking for new opportunities
and ideas.
b) This led on to a pointed discussion about the size of ATP
from the UK. Obviously this is of current concern to Alan Donald who urgently awaits the outcome of the PES discussions. But his fear that the sums available will be quite insufficient to win many orders for capital projects against competition from the Japanese, West Germans and French, were echoed by David Gillmore from Kuala Lumpur, Justin Staples from
Bangkok, and Christian Adams from Hong Kong.
12. The view was developed that the UK winning a substantial share of capital projects in South East Asia an area of the world that generally "has a future" and is not over-burdened with foreign debt - should form part of Britain's approach to foreign policy. Capital projects now would mean consultancies, technical training, spare parts and, one hopes, more orders and influence in the future.
13. If the ATP sums available are very small, it will inevitably mean some Missions considering that capital projects are scarcely worth pursuing; it would be better to concentrate resources on the promotion of the English language via scholarships and cultural work, language-teaching and technical training as the means of promoting Britain.
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14. There was criticism of the detail required from Missions in financial and administrative reporting-back to the UK. There was a feeling that while Missions were being told to act as local cost-centres, they were not given enough reponsibility to do so.
CONFIDENTIAL