PERSONAL
Mitte/well
9/0
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
5 October 1990
14. Colym, Sein)
Martin Barrow
c/o The Legislative Council
8 Jackson Road
HONG KONG
Димани
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE
abrady knows all akin the CPA
A good
water down
Dhs Barsha
сва
За
Mr Wilkins to 836
ř ng ch
Thank you for your letter of 18 September and its enclosure, which duly reached me in the Furama while I was in Hong Kong.
Your views make a refreshing change from many we hear in Hong Kong and elsewhere on this subject. I agree that if we are to solve the problem, it is essential to take into account both the regional and international dimensions. This is not always easy: what plays well in Hong Kong does not necessarily play well internationally, and vice versa. But I believe that, by and large, we have managed to get the international bit right. It comes in the form of the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) agreed at last year's UN Conference in Geneva. Implemented in full it would provide the comprehensive and durable solution we seek. I attach a copy and commend it to you: it has stood up to changes in the situation remarkably well, and many have high hopes for
a blueprint for coping with the problems of population migration which are likely to be a growing feature of the 1990s.
As to the specific points in your paper, I hope that you will have drawn some satisfaction from the recent turn in events. The Agreement we negotiated in Hanoi on 21 September closely follows the prescription in your opening paragraph, and should be backed up by a European Community reintegration assistance package, unveiled in Jakarta at the end of July. Since then the American Secretary of State has met the Vietnamese Foreign Minister and the two countries seem clearly on the road to normalisation. I share your belief that, given half a chance, the Vietnamese economy could take off, thus solving the residual problem of the boat people.
САЗАМТ
Bertwitte
nom sincerely
ни
D H Colvin
منك
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