TNAG-0714-FCO40-910-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 64

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Mr Fogarty

REVISED PROCEDURES FOR COUNTRY POLICY PAPERS

1.

In Mr Stratton's absence abroad I am replying to Mrs Yates' minute of 20 March with comments from the Dependent Territories Division on your draft submission.

2. Mr Rae has already pointed out the apparent contradiction between the statement in paragraph 3 that the requirement for and CPPS does not apply to the Dependent Territories or WIAS the inclusion of many of them in the list at Annex 2, and you subsequently confirmed by telephone to WIAD that the final version of the minute would make it clear that CPPS would not be prepared for WIAD's territories,

3.

With independence in prospect for all the Pacific territories save Pitcairn it would be appropriate to lift the exemption on their inclusion in the CPP system. We would however suggest that papers are likely to serve a useful purpose only after the

This Independence Settlements have almost run their course. would mean that Tuvalu should be the subject of a paper in early

It 1980 and the Solomons and the Gilberts some time later. could be argued that a paper on the New Hebrides should be produced next year, to precede Independence in 1980, but in the interests of economy of effort we would prefer to deal with the issues involved in the position papers that will be needed as a basis for the Independence Settlement.

4. Although we are excluding the West Indian dependenotes, we are of course providing substantive policy analysis in the rolling budgetary aid surveys and in the three year programming system for project aid which the Development Division operate: The dependencies were also included, as you know, in the Territorial Studies exercise which took place in 1976 and 1977. The threads of that exercise are now being drawn together by WIAD into a policy review paper.

5. We welcome the proposed, reduced format for the papers.

23 March 1978

001

Mr Stratton o.r.

Mr Rae

Mr Hurrell

Mr Lynch

Mr. Duff

Mr Snodgrass Mr Beattie

MKC 025/2

RECEIV ́S

IDEX

Y NO. 51

28 MAR 1978

(REGISTRY

Action Taken

&

JAB Stewart

Hong Kong & General Dept

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