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the statement made by his predecessor.
5. The current establishment of the Brigade of Gurkhas is
about 8000, divided into five battalions. There is also a
regiment of engineers, a signals regiment and a transport
regiment. Gurkhas are deployed primarily in Hong Kong, but also in Brunei and Britain (Church Crookham). Following an
D MOD review, Mr Younger told Parliament on 22 May 1989 that
the MOD planned to maintain a Brigade of Gurkhas of about
4000, comprising 4 infantry battalions and engineer, signal
and transport squadrons. The brigade would be based in the UK and would play a mainstream role in the army. Mr Younger indicated that 4000 was the minimum number we expected to
retain after 1997, but that it might be higher if there was
a recruitment shortfall in Britain. He noted that his
statement "involves a rock-bottom level of assurance".
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6.
The Nepalese Government has shown concern about the
future of the Gurkhas. The Nepalese Prime Minister, Mr
Bhattarai, commented to our outgoing Ambassador in late
September that he valued the British Army Gurkha connection.
He hoped that the reduction announced by Mr Younger could be
made as gradually as possible. Mr Burges Watson noted that we were currently reassessing our defence requirements as a
whole, but he had instructions not to go beyond this
(Kathmandu telno 385 and FCO telno 187 to Kathmandu).
7.
During his briefing rounds, Mr George (Ambassador -designate to Kathmandu) has been given cautiously worded
reassurance that some longterm Gurkha role will be required.
But there is as yet no clear confirmation that the MOD is
committed to maintaining a Brigade of Gurkhas. In these circumstances it is still worth putting down a marker with
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