TNAG-0883-FCO40-1093-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 185

CONFIDENTIAL

DSR 11C

C

Finance

8

Any financial help Britain might offer towards the

and running cost of establishing/a centre is something for the ODM to

consider (we are grateful for the considered comments in Vic

McGee's letter of 15 February to Pat Morgan). We should like

to tell the UNHCR that the government would in principle be

prepared to consider sympathetically making financial

contributions commensurate with the normal level of our

contributions and with the need and number of refugees to be

housed in the centre, but that our consideration of this

would need to be based on practical and concrete proposals:

there is no call to make any more specific commitment to

finance the centre, or any part of it, at this stage. If the

ODM (to whom I am copying this letter and enclosures) could

agree to the formula above, or offer a better alternative, we

should be most grateful.

9

I should also welcome any other more general comments

you may have on the proposal. I am not sure whether the

Treasury need be brought into the picture at this stage, but

may I leave this to you and to the ODM to decide?

CONFIDENTIAL

BY A23489/ 1629 4140 (MPC Dronkeli