CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELNO 571
OF 101659Z JUNE 93
CONFIDENTIAL
ніків 091/3
RI
15 JUN 1993
INFO ROUTINE UKDEL OECD, BTC HONG KONG
PA OECD
44
147262
MDHOAN
4131
YOUR TELNO 912: OECD: OBSERVER STATUS FOR
HONG KONG
Summary 1. Agree that observership on trade committee desirable. Will support any Hong Kong application. Hope Hong Kong Permanent Representative to GATT will be able to call on our Ambassador to the OECD to discuss handling."
Detail 2. Believe Hong Kong will be able to make a constructive contribution as an observer to the trade committee and merits participation both because of its good trade policy, reputation as a trader and because of its trading volume.
3.
However some other members may be reluctant to accept Hong Kong's application either because of a misunderstanding of the implications of 1997 or because of a desire to limit the size of
the Committee.
4. Careful briefing and lobbying, and perhaps care with the wording of the application and of the OECD's invitation, should help neutralise the first fear. The second may be more difficult, especially as it is an argument that we ourselves have used in the past to discourage over enthusiastic expansion of the OECD. The Trade Committee is one of the key OECD committees and one that we find very valuable. It currently has 24 members (plus the EC) and 6 observers (Korea, Mexico, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak republics). Others including some Latin Americans, other East Europeans (including Russia and the Baltics), Cyprus, Malta and possibly Singapore are also believed to be interested in observership. Obviously the Committee cannot absorb a large number of new observers, all with speaking rights without running some risk of losing the value current members derive from participation either because meetings take longer or because some of the constructive and collaborate atmosphere is Lost. We should be able to argue that Hong Kong is a major
1
PAGE
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.