TNAG-1297-FCO40-1652-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1984 — Page 312

CONFIDENTIAL

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Mr Elliott, FED

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HKCK 027./2

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02712 Eus

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

27 JAN 1984,

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

аљ

PA

Secretary of State's Visit to the Far East

Thank you for your submission of 18 January.

REGISTRY

ction Take.

KERT

10

As I told you on the telephone, I have not shown this to the Secretary of State because of the suggestion that the Secretary of State might also visit Peking on this trip. I have now seen Mr Donald's minute of 19 January making this point (attached). We have been looking urgently at the diary to see whether it would be possible to extend the visit at one end or the other to make room for a visit to Peking (I assume that we would need at least thirty-six hours to make this worthwhile). There is no possibility of advancing the Secretary of State's departure from 14 April (there is an inward State visit and an important constituency engagement in the preceding two days). We are already returning on Easter Saturday, and I imagine that the Secretary of State would wish to avoid taking up the entire Easter holiday period with this trip if at all possible.

One further complication for the dates you propose has come. to light. The Secretary of State had agreed some time ago to give lunch for the UN Secretary-General on Tuesday 17 April. I am sorry that this had been overlooked when we were discussing provisional dates; it forms part of a longer visit involving hospitality by the Prime Minister and the strong advice from UN Department is that the Secretary of State should keep this engagement.

In the light of these two considerations, I would be grateful if you could look very quickly at the possibility of moving the whole visit into the following week. From the point of view of the Secretary of State's diary it would be possible for him to be away for the week after Easter up to and including Monday 30 April. He would however have to be back in the office on 1 May (not this year a Bank Holiday). Working backwards, and assuming the same share out of time including one night in Peking, we would have to leave on Easter Sunday, 22 April. It would be useful if you could let me know by this evening whether you see any major problems of principle in such a revised timing. I appreciate that you will not have of course been able to consult posts by then.

Ricketts

(P F Ricketts)

20 January,

1984

cc: PS/Mr Luce

PS/PUS

Sir P Cradock

Sir S Giffard (Heads of Mission Section)

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CONFIDENTIAL