TNAG-2227-FCO40-3199-Political-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Commonwealth-count-1991 — Page 97

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CHOGM 1991: COMMUNIQUE: CALL FOR BRIEFING

INTRODUCTION

1. The final documents of Heads of Government meetings are, by tradition, a Communiqué, a text on Functional Cooperation loosely linked to it, and one or more free standing Declarations or Statements (in recent years one on a topical issue of general significance, such as the Environment or World Trade, and one on South Africa). Perhaps marking the preponderance of developing country members, these have come to resemble more than anything in style and range NAM Summit Declarations. Their impact has fallen as their length has

grown.

2.

The Prime Minister has already told the Secretary General that we want a much shorter set of final documents, and has agreed with the Secretary of State that these should be limited to the Communiqué itself, and the "Harare Commonwealth Declaration". CCD will pursue vigorously the procedural battle for a shorter text.

THE REQUIREMENT

3. The purpose of this minute is, nevertheless, to commission briefing for use primarily by the PUS and Mr Lankester in the Committees of the Whole on the worst case assumption that we fail, and they are faced with the need to respond to the same range and detail of text as in 1989 (but on this occasion including language on South Africa).

3.

I therefore attach:

(a) the relevant extracts from the 1989 Kuala Lumpur

final texts (Annex B); and

(b) the material prepared by your Department for the

1989 Communiqué negotiation (Annex C).

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