TNAG-0515-FCO40-580-Restrictions-on-visits-of-nationals-from-Soviet-Bloc-to-Hong-1974 — Page 13

CONFIDENT IAL

BRITISH EMBASSY

BUCHAREST

22 October 1974

6/73

A CStuart Esq

Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department

FCO

13

Dear Sant

HONG KONG

ROMANIA TRADE RELATIONS

19

1. A Hong Kong economic mission, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and led by Sir Y-K Kan, was in Bucharest from 12 to 15 October to explore the possibility of developing trade relations between komania and Hong Kong. Mr Ian Mikardo MP was in attendance and had, I take it, performed a role in introducing the Hong Kong mission and ensuring that it was taken seriously. The visit seems to have been part of a general East European foray, since the delegation arrived here from Sofia and were going on to Budapest.

2.

My impression of the visit was that it went very well as far as the visitors were concerned. They arrived at a time that was psychologically right, with the Romanians striving to build up new export markets throughout the world, wherever they can detect an opportunity, and not too fussy about the political complexion of their trade partners. The Hong Kong team came here with a hard-sell approach. They presented the Colony as a market of importance importing immense quantities of goods from all over the world; they expressed a determination to build up trade with Romania, should the Romanians be willing; they offered flexible arrangements for industrial co-operation (should for instance Romania be interested in manufacturing a pocket calculator in co-operation with the Hong Kong electronic industry, there would be no objections to the Romanians exporting the finished article wherever they wanted in the world); they showed interest in third-maket co-operation with the Komanians with a view to helping Romania to develop its exports to say Indonesia.

3.

The Romanians who met the Hong Kong delegation (admittedly people mainly at working level) appear to have been impressed by the vigour of the presentation. I attended a lunch given by Sir Y-K Kan at which the Vice-Chairman of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce expressed his appreciation of the visit and the wish on the Romanian side to develop commercial and co-operative contacts with Hong Kong, now that they were for the first time in contact with what was for them a new country". The only difficulty he said, turning to me with a smile, was that it took at least three months for a Romanian businessman to obtain a Hong Kong visa from the British Embassy.

CONFIDENTIAL