TNAG-1117-FCO40-1391-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1982 — Page 137

CONFIDENTIAL

DSR 11C

every three years instead of every other year. A lesser

priority might be to suggest that Commonwealth Finance

Ministers (CFMs) should meet every other year; and

agriculture, health, education and law Ministers every four

years. CFMs might also be held in the same place as the IMF

and World Bank meetings, even if this were not in the

Commonwealth, rather than in a separate Commonwealth capital;

(ii) aim for a return to the informality and privacy

of earlier Commonwealth meetings, in order to encourage

a genuine exchange of views on topics of interest.

The CHGM communique might be much shorter, and note the

topics discussed without going into details. If there were

one or two topics on which Heads of Government wanted to

make a clear statement, this could, like the Melbourne

Declaration, be issued separately;

(iii) consider a reduction in the financial cost of the

Commonwealth to Britain. Annex 5 shows that the cost

to the PSBR this year will be about £

million. As

Annex 5 shows, this is not a great deal when compared,

for example, to our contribution to some UN bodies.

But any reduction would be welcome, and a reduction in

our percentage contribution to the Secretariat is a

possibility we should consider.

(iv) get at least one British national at senior level

into the Secretariat eg (as already envisaged) to fill the

post of Deputy Secretary-General (Economic) which falls

vacant shortly.

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