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5.
trilateral cooperation.
The outline of Annex C attached behind the paper shows the headings on which we and WED think an input is required. I would be grateful if the responsible Departments (shown in brackets) could provide inputs to fill in the headings direct to me and not later than close of play on Friday, 14 June. I know this may seem a tall order and some further explanation may be helpful:-
-
the Secretary of State has ruled that other Government Departments should not be consulted on this exercise, at least for the present. Whitehall colleagues cannot, therefore, explicitly be asked for their help in providing formulations. The corollary is that the definitions you provide will not and need not be binding for Whitehall as a whole: they will merely represent the FCO's best view of what might be desirable, were it possible to achieve full agreement in Whitehall on implementation and the necessary resources. If there are significant differences of view among Departments, this should be mentioned. If, of course, you are able to get relevant information and a steer from Whitehall colleagues without having to declare the purpose of the exercise, there can be no objection to this;
are not particularly wedded to the headings shown.
I would be glad to discuss with Departments any changes which they may think necessary in the formulation and division of issues, or any additions they think desirable. The allocation of responsibility to Departments can also be changed by agreement. In particular, I have suggested that Defence Department should coordinate
material for serial
and I should be glad to discuss
with Mr Brenton of ECD(E) how serials
and
should
be handled, bringing in further geographical departments if necessary.
The triangle' in third fora
6.
Also by 14 June, I would welcome comments from Defence Department, UND, ERD, the ECDs and other functional Departments on the last two indents of c) ii) on page 14. What mechanisms exist already for formal or informal consultation with the French and/or Germans, at international bodies and outside them? Are the arrangements effective, sufficiently well known and coordinated throughout Whitehall, accepted by non-participants and international staff, etc? Can we make any practical suggestions for improvement?
(ir)Bilateral mechanics
7.
I have already discussed sections c) ii), iii) and iv) of the paper in some detail with WED, who will be putting together further suggestions on iii) in particular. We shall be taking account of suggestions made in earlier correspondence from posts.
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2
/If any