TNAG-2353-FCO40-3423-Visits-by-Lord-Caithness--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and--1991 — Page 47

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BTC HONG KONG (AS CONSULATE GENERAL, MACAU).

VISIT OF LORD AND LADY CAITHNESS TO MACAU 7 DECEMBER 1991.

SUMMARY

1. DURING THIS ONE DAY VISIT LORD CAITHNESS WAS ABLE TO HAVE USEFUL DISCUSSIONS ON CURRENT PROJECTS AND POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES. THE ACTING GOVERNOR AND OTHER LEADING MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATION TOOK SOME TROUBLE OVER THE VISIT, AND FOR THEIR PART CLEARLY APPRECIATED HMG'S INTEREST.

DETAIL

2. LORD AND LADY CAITHNESS SPENT FROM 10.30 AM UNTIL 4.30 PM SATURDAY 7 DECEMBER IN MACAU. IT WAS THEIR FIRST VISIT THERE, AND THE FIRST BY A BRITISH MINISTER SINCE THAT OF MR.MAUDE, ALSO THEN MINISTER OF STATE AT THE FCO, IN 1989.

3. AN INITIAL MEETING WITH THE ACTING GOVERNOR (THE GOVERNOR WAS AWAY PROMOTING MACAU IN BRUSSELS), BRIG. RIBEIRO, ALLOWED THE MINISTER AND THE ACTING GOVERNOR TO AGREE THE IMPORTANCE OF CLOSE LIAISON BETWEEN HONG KONG AND MACAU AS THEY FACED A COMMON FUTURE. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A MORE FORMAL MEETING WITH A NUMBER OF THE UNDER SECRETARIES (THE ROUGH EQUIVALENT OF MINISTERS, OR SIMILAR TO HONG KONG'S SECRETARIES), CHAIRED BY THE ACTING GOVERNOR, IN WHICH LORD CAITHNESS WAS BRIEFED ON ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS. THERE WAS PARTICULAR FOCUS ON MACAU'S AIRPORT PROJECT, WHICH LOOMS AS LARGE THERE AS DOES THE AIRPORT PROJECT IN HONG KONG. ALTHOUGH THERE IS CONSIDERABLE SCEPTICISM IN HONG KONG ABOUT MACAU'S AIRPORT, LORD CAITHNESS WAS ASSURED THAT MAJOR CONTRACTS ARE ABOUT TO BE LET, AND WAS SHOWN THE EXTENT TO WHICH SOME OF THE RECLAMATION WORK HAD BEEN COMPLETED. THE MACAU TEAM TOLD THE MINISTER THAT THEIR MAIN CURRENT CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEM WITH THE CHINESE WAS OVER THE RATE OF

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