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5. Neither my German colleagues nor I have any intention of forcing this process into any kind of strait-jacket.
Nor do we wish to introduce another layer into the EC meetings which take place regularly at various levels. The aim instead is to develop with imagination and in accordance with local circumstances the most productive and economical way of harnessing our respective resources in ways which promote shared interests. This can extend to proposals for co-locating Embassy buildings, as in Alma Ata and Minsk. it may simply mean agreeing with your German colleague to meet at regular intervals, perhaps every six months, with your
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senior staff to compare notes on the local scene rather as
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most FCO AUSS here already have regular meetings with their
German opposite numbers. I hope in any case that wherever appropriate you will increasingly share your reporting with your German contacts: a process which is cost-free and does a great deal to build confidence.
6. In short, I hope that the kind of cooperation envisaged in the Ditchley Declaration will increasingly become a matter of natural instinct on both sides.
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&.
David Gillmore
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