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1993-03-31 18:33
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[UK]
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093/2
31 March 1993
P Ackroyd Esq
MRED
ODA
94 Victoria Street
LONDON SWI
45 24 98 37
P.02
United Kingdom Delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
19 rue de Franqueville
75118 Paris
Telephone: 45 24 98 28
Facsimile: 45 24 98 37
Pawel,
Dan's P
DEVELOPMENT CENTRE PROGRAMME: PROPOSED 1994 SHORT TERM STUDY ON
'CHINA'S FUTURE OUTLOOK ON THE HONG KONG DOLLAR'
1. Would you please refer to your letter of 29 March and also to Ian Ruff's letter of 31 March.
2.
On receipt of your letter I wrote to Jean Bonvin, the Acting Head of the Centre, stating that we would be unable to support a study of 'China's Future Outlook and the Hong Kong Dollar' and suggesting instead that the Centre might consider a study of the economic development of Guandong Province and the role of Hong Kong in stimulating that development. Jean Bonvin subsequently telephoned to say that he entirely understood our sensitivity about the first proposal which was why he has consulted me
X informally before he included it in the Centre's 1994 work
programme proposal. He would drop it. He liked very much the suggestion we made and would be putting it forward (for consideration by the Advisory Board at its meeting on 19 May; not on 2 April when there are other items on the Board's agenda).
3.
Ian Ruff's letter indicates there is a need to clarify responsibilities for issuing instructions relating to the Development Centre in Whitehall. The Development Centre is not part of the OECD Secretariat, but is a semi-autonomous institute conducting academic type research into issues relating to global development operating under OECD auspices. It is not financed from the main OECD Budget. (FCO money) but from voluntary contributions from member states in Part 2 of the OECD Budget. Not all OECD member states make voluntary contributions (eg Australia and New Zealand do not and therefore do not sit on the Advisory Board). One non-OECD country, namely Korea, has recently been admitted to membership of the Board and makes a financial contribution. The UK contribution to the Centre's budget is only 6.38% compared to 25% from the USA; 23% from Japan; 11.3% from Germany; 7.75% from France and 7.47% from Italy. The UK's financial contribution also comes from the ODA budget and not the FCO budget which is why we regard the latter
(and MRED within ODA in particular) as the source of Whitehall instructions regarding the research programme/short term studies.
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