TNAG-1892-FCO40-2685-Visits-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe-and-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretaries-1989 — Page 85

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CONFIDENTIAL

COVERING SECRET

From:

Sir J Fretwell

Date:

10 August, 1989

c.c.

Mr Gillmore

Mr Tomkys

Mr Cooper, Policy Planning Staff

Mr Bayne

Mr Moss

Mr Hervey

Mr Hulse, EED

Mr Synnott, WED

Mr Weston, SED

Mr Gowan, Soviet Dept Protocol Department

MINISTERIAL VISITS COMMITTEE

1.

We spoke about the paper which the Planning Staff are preparing on the Secretary of State's future programme and priorities. I would like to hold an informal meeting of the Ministerial Visits Committee at 14.30 on Monday, 14 August to reconsider certain visits which were proposed for Sir G Howe. I attach an extract from my minute of 17 July following the last meeting of the MVC: these suggestions were broadly endorsed at the time by Sir G Howe.

2. It is clear that the new Secretary of State will be under great pressure during his first twelve months. In addition to the unavoidable round of commitments in the framework of the European Community, political cooperation, the UN, WEU, NATO etc., he will have to give first priority to establishing contacts in Washington, Moscow, the key European Community capitals and Tokyo and to dealing with crucial situations such as Hong Kong, the Middle East/ hostage problem, South Africa etc. The scope for more distant and leisurely travel will be severely restricted. Against this background we need to consider whether any of the proposals in paragraph 6 of my earlier minute have to be maintained. Is there, for instance, a definite commitment to the Nigerian visit in January 1990, or could this be put back for, say, a year? How serious would it be if the proposed Australian visit in the summer of 1990 were dropped? Conversely, are there countries not included in the proposals put to Sir G Howe because he had visited them in the last year or two which should be brought back into the programme for Mr Major?

3.

I leave it to the recipients of this minute to decide whether they should come to the meeting or be represented. I do not expect a full house in the middle of the holiday season. No one need attend unless he or she has a definite point to make in relation to a particular visit. But unless a case is made, it would be as well to assume that all the visits listed in paragraph 6 of the earlier minute will be dropped, except the two proposed visits to Washington and probably the visit to Japan.

CONFIDENTIAL COVERING SECRET

mg2

John Fretwell