CONFIDENTIAL
ld be left to the Prime Minister and President Mitterrand.
Bilateral Relations
22. M. Dumas noted that it was hoped to issue a statement at the Summit announcing that a meeting would take place in the New Year to announce the decision on the Channel Fixed Link project.
23. The Secretary of State noted that China was being very obdurate in negotiations on the Guangdong nuclear project. It was important for the UK and France to stand together. M. Dumas agreed it was
essential for the two countries to secure the contract.
24. The Secretary of State took note of the agreed joint report on bilateral relations. Useful progress had also been made on bilateral defence relations, which were the subject of a separate report. The joint threat assessment was a useful exercise. thought it might be useful for UK and French arms control experts to meet. M. Dumas said this could be followed up after the Geneva summit.
He
25. The Secretary of State asked if France would consider receiving more Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong. M. Dumas said there was little scope for this. Refugees would have to meet French requirements of having family ties in France and/or speaking French
he understood few of the refugees in Hong Kong meet these requirements. He agreed that there should be exchanges of information between British and French officials.
26. The meeting ended at 1025.
CONFIDENTIAL
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