1. N. Hop
RESTRICTED
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
12
M Pallon
100 ملي
London SW1A 2AH
233 5073
Telephone 01-
(17)
&
тв
Interesting at pars of
le 10/10
P Bean Esq BANGKOK
LKK 273/3
RECEIVI
- 3 NOV 1986
Арда
ква
Your reference
Our reference
Date
14 October 1986
Аексизов
INDEA
PA
GISTRY Action Taken
Dear
Petol
صلاة
VISIT OF THE DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE THAI NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (NSC)
1. I duly attended the meeting held at the Home Office for Khun Kahachadpai, Deputy Secretary General of the NSC, on 13 October. The Home Office fielded a good team: Charles Taylor, Head of the Voluntary Services Unit; Penny Lee, Head of the Section dealing with Race Relations (and Charles Taylor's predecessor) and Tony Lewis, responsible in the VSU for refugee matters. Kahachadpai was accompanied by Akrasid from the Thai Embassy.
2.
It was not immediately clear what Kahachadpai's interest in the Home Office was. Mr Taylor gave a useful summary of the areas of responsibility of the Home Office and then Kahachadpai closed in on a few points. It was apparent that he had no particular "points to make" and was interested really in informing himself of British policy and experience. I shall pick out only one or
two points of particular interest from the exchange of views.
Geneva: UNHCR EXCOM Meeting
3.
Kahachadpai had come from Geneva and had called immediately before the meeting at the Home Office on Martin Barber of the British Refugee Council. He had clearly picked up one or two indications of the current UK initiative aimed at relieving the refugee burden on Hong Kong. He asked for example whether we knew of the "group of resettlement countries which meets in Hawaii". I explained to him the background of the Honolulu group, stressing that it was a loose grouping of countries rather than a formal club. Since the four members of the group are all countries with whom the UK maintains a dialogue on refugee issues, I did not deny that in the margins of ExCom it was likely that the British delegation would have discussed matters of common concern with the members of the group if not formally with the group itself. Kahachadpai clearly believes that the UK is working on a plan with Hong Kong very much in the forefront of our policy making.
RC2ADE
RESTRICTED
/Resettlement