TNAG-2625-FCO40-3816-Visit-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Co-1992 — Page 3

CONFIDENTIAL

the present thinking in No.10 that the Prime Minister might combine a bilateral visit with his attendance at the G7 summit in Tokyo in July: it seems to us that this could too easily fall foul of arrangements for the EC/Japan summit, a Clinton visit or a Yeltsin visit.

5. We are therefore planning to go back to No.10 with a strong recommendation that there should be a self-standing visit to Tokyo, perhaps during the Easter recess. I take it that this would give you no difficulty. If the Prime Minister were to go to Tokyo at Easter, we would of course direct the Secretary of State elsewhere at the end of his own Far Eastern visit so as to avoid any clash.

6.

We shall also be pointing out to No.10 that whenever the Prime Minister goes to Tokyo there would be the opportunity for a stopover in Hong Kong on his way there or back. At this stage, of course, we cannot yet know how a visit to Hong Kong would play. That depends among other things on our dealings with China over Hong Kong. But we will keep this possibility in mind, and I have no doubt that it might come up in due course in the direct contacts between the Prime Minister and the Governor.

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dve

CC:

Sir R McLaren KCMG,

PEKING

Mr A C Galsworthy CMG,

JLG HONG KONG

Mr S P Day CMG,

BTC, HONG KONG

Mr R Hoare, PS/Governor,

HONG KONG

Mr Ricketts.

bcc:

illv

Davies

Clist

CO Hum

CONFIDENTIAL