TNAG-2346-FCO40-3415-Political-relations-between-Hong-Kong--Japan-and-China-1991 — Page 128

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MR MANLEY'S VISITS TO TOKYO AND BEIJING: DISCUSSION WITH DR CARR

1.

I talked today to Dr Earl Carr, Head of Far Eastern Division, MFA, about his visits to Japan and China as part of Prime Minister Manley's party. It was his first visit to the two countries though his Far Eastern experience goes back to the early seventies when he was a student in Cambodia. It was there that we last met though our recol- lections of each other are understandably rather vague.

Japan

2.

Dr Carr had nothing much to add factually to what we already know about the Tokyo visit and which you reported in telno, 208 to FCO. On the $64m promised for the North Coast development project, he said that the Japanese were reluctant to sign any bilateral agreement at this stage because the project was a joint one with the US and the formal project agreement would of necessity be a complicated document involving the three parties. They emphasised, however, that their verbal commitment was a firm one. In the discussions on tourism, Mr Manley had specifically stressed his wish to see Japanese investment in the sector either in the form of the purchase of an existing hotel - there was still a government owned one for sale or in the building of a new hotel. Dr Carr referred to the rapid increase in the number of Japanese tourists to Jamaica over the last few years which he put down to the sterling promotional efforts of the tourist board representative in Tokyo who was also their Honorary Consul. He was the Japanese born son of American missionaries to Japan.

3.

Dr Carr volunteered the information that during the meeting between the Emperor and Mr Manley - no

no Jamaican officials were allowed to be present - the Emperor had talked about environmental matters and had suggested that the knowledge the Japanese had gained from their own efforts to improve the environment might usefully be shared with Jamaica.

4.

I asked about the proposed establishment of a Jamaican diplomatic mission in Tokyo. Dr Carr said that a firm decision had been taken to establish the mission by the end of 1991. Initially, until suitable accommodation could be found and afforded, the mission would probably operate from the Jamaican tourist board office. They were looking at the possibility of some kind of Caricom function which would help to defray some of the costs involved. Dr Carr said that other countries, chief amongst them China, would be covered from Tokyo. He said that the Chinese Embassy in Jamaica had indicated that China would be happy with such an arrangement.

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