TNAG-1253-FCO40-1586-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 211

arrangement together, the British and the Chinese and the people on Hong Kong,

as to their future and I hope that between us all over the next year or so we shall achieve a satisfactory arrangement. That's what we are working to

achieve.

Q:

How important a role do you see the Commonwealth has in the world?

Swedes and other nations have very foggy ideas about the Commonwealth, what

the Commonwealth's for?

A: It is certainly a very unusual group which emerged out of our history.

What happened was that we decided that it was absolutely right and proper that

the countries that formed part of what once was the British Empire should have

the right to self-determination. They must decide all their future and their

form of government, do everything themselves, and it was in fact the way in

which Britain de-colonised its Empire that something like 45 states took

their place in their own right at the United Nations. Now this Commonwealth

group consists of 47 countries all round the world, developed and not developed,

poor countries, comparatively rich countries, large countries, small countries,

an immense mixture. Every kind of language and race, creed is involved in it, almost every kind and this group sits down volunatarily together to share

their concerns, to exchange their points of view, it maintains a continuous

dialogue not only at Heads of Government level, Finance Minister level, all

levels, and it is in fact a family of friends. It doesn't take decisions as

such. It is essentially a discursive forum, a unique forum, for the informal

exchange of views. It has a Secretariat in London very close to my office

here. I think it is appreciated by every member country and I think it makes

a major contribution to stability and I think it makes a major contribution to

mutual understanding between countries and people of an infinite variety and

I think it's a wonderful institution.

Q:

To keep this wonderful club alive costs you a lot of money, costs the

British Government quite a bit of money, and a bit of liability...

A:

It costs all the Commonwealth a bit of money and it costs us a bit of money but we don't keep the Commonwealth alive. We are only oneof the 47

members. They are all equal in importance, whether it is Barbados or whether

it's......

Q:

A:

Without England, it wouldn't be a Commonwealth?

Well, we are just one 'member.. It's a club of 47 members of which we

are one and we are no more significant than anybody else except that it was

out of our history that it actually was created and the Commonwealth Secretariat