UNCLASSIFIED
2) MA
Mr Whitehead
26
29
PANIT IARISATION VISITS
1. Your minute of 21 May.
2.
I
As far as Hong Kong is concerned, neither the Assistant nor the Desk Officer dealing with political questions has visited the Colony so far. Both have been in post only a matter of months. The Assistant will be visiting Hong Kong for a fortnight in late June; and both the Governor and I are anxious that the Desk Officer should go out in the autumn. note from the Inspector's draft Report on this Department that he believes that visits by members of the Department to dependent territories should have priority consideration.
The Governor is so enthusiastic about the idea that he has said that the Hong Kong Government would be prepared to pay the expenses: but this is very undesirable given the somewhat delicate nature of our relations with our largest remaining Colony.
3. The Desk Officer dealing with economic and commercial questions involving Hong Kong came to us after two years' service in the Colony. His advice is consequently much sought after by us all. There is however a case for his visiting Hong Kong at least once a year.
4. The Assistant has not visited Seychelles. Nor have either of the Desk Officers. There has scarcely been any opportunity to do so over the past year when we have been fully engaged on the Independence processes. However, I do believe that the Desk Officer remaining after Seychelles' Independence (who is being transferred to EAD) should visit the new Republic in the autumn.
25 May 1976
миль
PL O'Keefe
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept
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