TNAG-1117-FCO40-1391-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1982 — Page 134

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15.

A more general consideration is that the Commonwealth stands out

as an informal, multi-racial and, on the whole, harmonious organisation-

at a time when the world is increasingly organised into plocks of like-

minded countries (NATO, EC, Warsaw Pact, OPEC). The Soviet Union would

probably give much to be associated with such a voluntary grouping of

diverse, mainly Third World nations and Mitterrand is making more of the

Franco-African summits, though these differ from CHGMs in that France

remains firmly at the centre of arrangements and determines their shape.

The Commonwealth is an advertisement for the strength and flexibility

of the Western as opposed to the Soviet approach to international

relations.

us

16. In sun therefore the Commonwealth does/more good than harm. It is

not crucial to our interests, but it helps.

17. More important is the Commonwealth scope for damaging our

interests.

Commonwealth members such as Nigeria and Malaysia are impor

tant to us commercially and economically.

If we are thought to neglect

the Commonwealth our bilateral relations with countries such as these

will suffer, with potentially serious consequences. Nor should we for-

get that smaller countries can cause us trouble too, as Malta has shown.

What next?

18. Would we be less vulnerable to this kind of pressure if we left the

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Commonwealth? Were we to de-so it would probably continue without us.

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But to leave would-be unpopular-acroad and at home. it would deprive

the Commonwealth of its wealthiest and most powerful member, around whom

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the organisation had built up, and would result in a Commonwealth still

more oriented towards the Third World, and at worse hostile, at vest

unsympathetic towards Britain, with an adverse effect on a wide range of

multilateral and bilateral interests. Our leaving would be taken uy

other countries, both inside and outside the Commonwealth, as evidence

of lack of concern for the Third World.

home, there remains a strong attachment to the Commonwealth at

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any levels of society, including the Palace, all major political parties

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