TNAG-1230-FCO40-1543-Visit-by-Richard-Luce--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Com-1983 — Page 274

DSR 11 (Revised)

DRAFT: mmute letter feleletter/despatch/n

FROM:

PS

DEPARTMENT:

TEL. NO:

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONĮ

TO:

PS/NO 10

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

CAVEAT.

.In Confidence

TYPE: Draft/Final 1+

Reference

Your Reference

SUBJECT:

Copies to:

Mr Murdo Maclean

Chief Whip's Office

Mr L Wilkinson, Cabin Secretary's Office

The Minister of State would like to visit some of the

countries for which he is responsible, in the second

half of September.

Mr Luce thinks it would be particularly useful to visit

Hong Kong; the Governor agrees, and would welcome a visit

on 26-28 September.

Enclosures-flag(s)...........

Mr Luce judges that a visit to Brunei in mid-September

would be timely, in terms of the negotiations over the

stationing of the Gurkha battalion. A visit to Singapore

would also be appropriates not least to brief the

Singaporeans on Brunei: they have been helpful in the

past and we could need their their help again. The

impending visit of the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Ghazal

Shafie, and the recent private visit of their Deputy

Prime Minister, Musa Hitam, underline the importance of

an early Ministerial visit to Malaysia; a visit by Mr Luc

would help to maintain the recent improvement in Anglo-

Malaysian relations. Similarly, a visit to Thailand

would repay the present visit by the Thai Foreign

/ Minister