Filename: Pages from 197_ NARAUK. PPS Brasil-UK.pdf

8/9/2019 Filename: Pages from 197_ NARAUK. PPS Brasil-UK.pdf

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CONFIDENTIAL

BRAZIL: PLANNING TALKS

Mr Cr. (Planning Staff)

1. When the Brazilian Minister/Counsellor called on me this

morning I mentioned to Trim that you on the Planning Staff

looked forward to your talks with your Brazilian opposite

numbers in about February. I mentioned to him the proposed

agenda as set out in Mr Smith's minute of 14 December andsuggested that a further subject for possible inclusion was

"the prospects for settlement^ of the Belize and Falkland

Islands disputes".

2. I recommend that Belize and the Falklands be added to

the agenda. It is important that we should use every oppor

tunity to keep both our partners in the European Community

and friendly governments in Latin America informed of our

policy as it develops. By February there should be develop

ments to report on both these problems.

Latin America Department

15 December 1976

cc: Chancery BrasiliaWIAD

CONFIDENTIAL


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CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Collins (LAD)

Y&'&+̀ &- +)Y&G+.;Yƒ )H 60

'm e m

ANGLO-BHAZILIAN PLANNING TALKS

1. I attach a copy of a letter from the Embassy in Brasilia aboutthe proposed Anglo-Brazilian Planning talks. We intend to replythat the week beginning 7 February would suit us rather better, oreven a little later in February (the reason being that we havearranged Planning talks with the French in Paris on 28 January).

2. As regards the agenda, we had thought of proposing the following:

(a) North/South delations.

(b) East/West relations and detente.

(c) Southern Africa.

(d) Planning methodology.

Since we should almost certainly have to take the lead on (b) and (c),we ought perhaps to suggest that the Brazilians áiould take the leadon (a;.

3. I should be grateful toknowwhether you (andcopy addressees)consider that this would beasuitable agenda topropose to theBrazilians, and whether there are any other subjects which would inyour view be more appropriate.

14 December 1976R H SmithPlanning Staff

Enc

cc with attachment

Mr Reith, CSA.DHr Bone, EESD

Mr Chistopher, FRD

CONFIDENTIAL


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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1

Telephone 01-

RESTRICTED RECEIVED IN

REGISTRY No. 60

2 2 OCT 1976

?\

S F St C Duncan EsqBRASILIA

Y o u r r e f e r e n c e

'Our reference R S 020/508/1

Da,e 22 October 1976

ANGLO-BRAZXLIAN PLANNING TALKS

1. Please refer to Patrick Nixon's letter of 8 September to you.

2. We now have financial authority for the talks. However, otherengagements will make it difficult for us to come to Brasilia beforethe end of the year. V/e should therefore like to arrange the visitfor as early in 1977 as is convenient for the Brazilians, and shouldbe grateful if you would sound them out about dates*

3. Meanwhile, in view of the interest of the Brazilians in ourorganisational arrangements, we have updated our unclassified handout,

and I enclose- two copies which you may like to pass on to the BrazilianMinistry of Foreign Affairs.

!£LvJ XiR H SmithPlanning Staff

Enc

CC W Mutoiv.

RESTRICTED7 /h


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Planning Machinery

4. The present Planning machinery in the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office consists of three elements: the Steering Committee; the Planning i

Committee; and the Planning Staff who serve both Committees. . .

9. The Steering Committee meets under the chairmanship of thePermanent Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office (Head of HM Diplomatic Service) to consider the strategic

direction of British foreign policy. Its membership comprises all

Deputy Under-Secretaries (currently 9 in number), the Permanent

Under-Secretary of the ODM, or his representative, the Legal Adviser,the Chief Economic Adviser, the Private Secretary, the Political

Adviser to the Secretary of State and the Head of the Planning Staff.

Assistant Under-Secretaries and others are invited to attend

particular meetings as necessary, depending on the subject under

discussion. It considers papers on broad policy issues, comments on

them in draft and decides on what further action would be appropriate.

Since the Committee is composed of very busy people it tends to

avoid drafting sessions and to give only general directions, remitting

detail to the Planning Committee (see above).

6. The Planning Committee is chaired by the Deputy Under-Secretarysuperintending the Planning Staff and includes the members of the

Planning Staff. In addition, members are drawn from a panel of senior

officials serving in the Office. Meetings are also attended by repre

sentatives of departments, and Assistant Under-Secretaries, as required

by the agenda. The role of the Planning Committee is to draw to the •'

attention of the Steering Committee subjects for planning papers,

whether by the Planning Staff "!* operational departments, and in duecourse to consider such papers and clarify broad issues of policy

on which discussion in the Steering Committee should concentrate.

It is also responsible for monitoring proposals for new expenditure.

7. The Planning Staff constitute a department of the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office, on a similar-footing to that of the seventy-odd

other geographical, functional and administrative departments within

the FCO with which they have dealings. They are relatively free

from day-to-day operational responsibilities and from the consequential

/pressures


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(2

pressures of urgent but short-term work. Their work is supervised

by a Deputy Under-Secretary. The Planning Staff consist at presentof a Counsellor (Assistant Secretary) as Head; four First Secretaries

(Principals); a Research Assistant and supporting clerical and secretar

ial staff. ..The Planning Staff has deliberately been kept small in

’‘order to preserve its homogeneity and avoid areas of functional

specialisation. This means that the Planners can never have the saae

detailed acquaintance with a subject as the responsible FCO department,

on whose expertise, research and statistics they must draw heavily

in almost everything they do. Close co-operation with the geographical,

functional and administrative experts is essential.

The Planners1 Work

8. As will be clear from paragraph 3 above, the task of the Planning

Staff is broadly to think ahead and to provide a general view of policy

in all fields.

9. To these ends the Planning Staff receive a full circulation of

diplomatic telegrams and documerts, are kept informed of all major

developments by departments in the FCO and by diplomatic missions

(embassies, delegations to international organisations, etc) abroad,

and attend all important meetings in the FCO. In detail, theirfunctions include:

a. identifying existing matters requiring reappraisal or new subjects

which should be brought to the attention of the Steering and

Planning Committees;

b. original drafting of long-term papers;

c. servicing both the Steering and the Planning Committees;

d. ensuring appropriate follow-up action on long-term papers after

they have been approved;

e* commenting on current issues and participating in collective

decision-making within the FCO' from the-ir detached vantage point

as Planners;


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f- keeping in touch with planning sections in other Whitehall

Ministries;

g. drafting speeches for the Secretary of State and other Ministers

on matters of foreign policy. One member of Planning Staff is

designated Speech Writer to the Secretary of State.

10. A classical planning paper (to which the majority, but by no

means all, conform) normally falls into four parts, as follows:

a. Assessment: a clear description is required of the condition of an

area, relationship or subject, and of British interest therein.

This description is sometimes laborious, but is usually indis

pensable ;

b. Prediction: Closely associated with the assessment of a. is the

discussion of how the area, subject or relationship is likely to

develop. This section will usually look about five years ahead and

sometimes beyond. Anything beyond fifteen years becomes too

speculative and falls into the dubious field of "futurology".

Predictions are inevitably sometimes cautious and qualified, and a

significant number take the form of alternative scenarios rather

than a straight choice of likely events;

c. Alternative -oolicies: a range of alternative "options" for

the British Government are usually developed on the basis of a*

and b. with a full discussion of the limitations and possibilities

of each;

d. Policy recommendations: if the paper is a "mind-clearing"

exercise, it will usually be completed only by broad general

conclusions and recommendations. If it is of the decision-making

kind, it will end with specific recommendations for the drastic

change, progressive modification, or faithful continuance of

existing policies» On some occasions (particularly in new fields,

or on issues on which the Planning Staff have been instructed to

undertake a radical rethink) these recommendations will be novel

and far-reaching.

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11. From November 1964 until March 1976 there were 192 formal

meetings of the Permanent Under-Secretary's Steering Committee (or

"The Permanent Under-Secretary's Planning Committee" as it was

previously called). These meetings considered a total of 198 policy

planning papers.

12. It has been customary since 1964 for a member of the Planning

Staff to take part in regional Heads of Diplomatic Mission Conferences.

Several of these conferences have had before them as a main document

for discussion a paper on the area in question prepared by the Planning

13. Planning talks are held regularly with a number of planning staffs

in the foreign ministries of other countries. The object of these

talks is to permit a rather more frank and informal exchange of views

than may be possible between ministers or between officials with

14. All departments in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintain

contacts with appropriate non-official expertise. The Planning

Staff have, however, a general responsibility in this sphere. They

have a regular working relationship with Chatham House and the

Institute for. Strategic Studies and have established contacts with a

number of other institutes and universities. Members of the PlanningStaff have taken part in and helped to organise Foreign. Office/

Foreign and Commonwealth Office seminars held since 1964. They have

also taken part in a wide range of non-official discussion groups,

conferences and seminars and have given a number of lectures to official;

and non-official audiences.

Historical Background

15* A brief note of the historical antecedents of the present

planning machinery in the FCO is in the Annex.

Planning Staff

October 1976

Staff.

particular operational responsibilities.


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ANNEX

History

!. Several attempts were made in the former Foreign Office afterWorld War II to deal with the problem of Planning. A "Permanent

•Under Secretary's Department" was set up in 194-9 to give general

consideration to major and long-term policy questions. In 1957 a

specific Planning and Co-ordination Section was set up within the

Permanent Under Secretary's Department. It was run by one First

Secretary (Principal). In 1961 this section was transferred to

"Western Organisations and Planning Department" and expanded to

include two First Secretaries.

2. In the former Commonwealth .Relations. Office a planning unit •

was first set up in 1959» This unit fonned part of the department

dealing with general Commonwealth policy and co-ordination, with one

First Secretary (Principal) engaged primarily on planning.

3. Experience in the Foreign Office revealed certain difficulties.

The Planning Section tended to become swamped by urgent demands for

policy speeches and for shorter term work, particularly of a co

ordinating nature. The eventual location of the Planners in a depart

ment dealing mainly with Western Europe and NATO affairs also made it

bard for them to get a wide enough view.

4. As a result, in January 1964 (just before the publication of

the Plowden Report - see paragraphs 5 and 6 below) the Foreign Officedecided to establish a separate Planning Staff.

9. A Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Plowden was appointedin 1963 by the then Prime Minister to report on "Representational

Services Overseas". In their report (Command Paper 2276 of February

1964, paragraphs 217-225), the Plowden Committee recommended that:

- the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office should lay greater

stress on policy planning;

- officials engaged on policy planning should, without being

encouraged to develop an "ivory tower” mentality, be freed from

any responsibility for current policy problems;

/there


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there should he greater contact with outside opinion;

- the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth delations Office should,

in advance of their eventual merger, combine their respective

planning departments into one.

6. The Plowden Committee noted that it was probably a misnomer to

speak of "planning" so far as the Foreign and Commonwealth Services

were concerned. They considered that direct planning in the sense

in which it is possible in industry or home departments was of limited

usefulness in the field of foreign policy, because of the difficulty

of foreseeing all the variables and of making assumptions accurate

enough for detailed planning. The kind of planning which they believed

would be useful and necessary was an attempt to foresee the choices

which Britain was likely to face in a period of up to five years and to

formulate broad lines of policy.

7* These recommendations were accepted, and the Planning structure

which evolved has remained broadly unchanged since, though with some

variations* Following the merger of the Foreign Office and the

Commonwealth Relations Office in October 1968, a joint Foreign and

Commonwealth Office Planning Staff was formally established*


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Mr CrowePlanning Staff es

eS-o' - *Ms W* (Sir)-f tcf̂ cv. ̂ (

RECE IVED IN

REG tSTRYN o .60

2 3 SEP 197635Z|

oy[

SHORT DUTY TRAVEL: ANGLO-BRAZILIAN PLANNING TALKS

1. In your minute of 14 September (attached) you asked Mr Benestfor authority for two members of the Planning Staff to visit Brasiliaat public expense for planning talks with the Brazilians. Mr Benesthas passed the minute to me, questioning whether it is necessary fortwo people to travel on this rather costly journey.

2. Your application leads me to wonder whether we do not need to

look at Planning Staff travel on a different basis from the present.Ve in this department must look particularly carefully, in presentcircumstances*, at all requests for short duty travel (as indeed atrequests for other expenditure from sub-heads for which we are responsible). Not only does the general economic situation requirethis: we are, as you know, now subject to cash limits, and it isno longer possible to rely on getting supplementary funds when aparticular sub-head is overspent.

3. Most short duty travel from the FCO is responsive: an international meeting is called overseas, for example, and someone hasto go to it. There is no way of dealing with applications for suchtravel except on an individual basis (though some departments, such .as the EIDs, do so much travel of this kind that we give them delegated authority). But with some types of short duty travel there

is more room for discretion. One example is familiarisation visits,which by tradition have been largely confined to Heads of Departmentand above, but which we have recently, with the PUS1 s support, beenable to extend to desk officers. Here we have asked departments forbids, and are trying to distribute the available funds on as equitable a basis as possible.

4. It seems to me that travel by Planning Staff is a case forsimilar treatment. You are developing the practice of talks withyour opposite numbers in various countries, and it is right thatthis should continue as far as travel funds permit. But funds willnot permit an unlimited expansion, and we In the Administrationcannot tell whether, for example, the journey for which you areapplying now is more important than one for vhich you may be applyingin a few months* time.

5. In short, I think we ought to consider funding travel by thePlanning Staff in terms of an annual programme, rather than throughad hoc applications for individual visits. I accept that it isprobably necessary for two of you to go to Brazil on this occasion, .if anyone goes at all; and I am prepared to authorise the fares andsubsistence cf two members of the Planning Staff to be paid from f y public funds on this occasion, provided that you are not going toask us to fund travel for more than one further set of similar talksduring the current financial year. But I suggest that you might in

/future


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3

future try to estimate your likely travel requirements at the startof a financial year, and let us have your proposals (however tentat

for the year as a whole in advance.

20 September 1976

Copied to:

PS/PUSSir A PuffMr EdmondsMr Carless, LADMr Jewkes, Finance Dept

A J HunterPersonnel Services Department


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PB/PUS

OMr Hunter

Mr Crowe, Planning Staff

1 . I see no difficulty in agreeing to the pro-oosal that a member ofPlanning Staff should visit Brasilia for these’talks, I would, however,question whether it is necessary for two members to £o, on what will bequite a costly journey (£530 return first class,and £342 return economy).I wonder whether Planning Staff could consider the possibility of makingdo with one -representative; supported by a member of the Embassy.

m v * j i

D L BenestPersonnel Services Department

15 September 1976

i

(?ii)


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Sir A Duif (o.r*)Hr EdmondsHr Carless LAD

Mr Benest, PSD

RESTRICTED HKEIVED IN

M{&G+.†Yƒ)"M6(

Í KS£M976

ANGLO-BRAZILIAN PLANNING TALKS

1. As you know the Planning Staff has a modest but useful programme of talks with the planning staffs in the foreign ministriesof the major countries of the world. In the past year or so wehave had formal talks with the Americans, Russians, French, Germansand Japanese. We have also during the same period or in previousyears talked rather less formally with the Chinese, Australiansand Canadians as well as had contacts with Indonesian, Indian,Iranian, Netherlands and Swedish planners. Many of the talks, andusually all the contacts take place in London. The value of thesetalks depends very much upon the individuals concerned and on therole which the country in question is playing on those subjectswhich are of interest to us. From time to time we have allowedsome of our contacts to lapse and we are currently trying to avoidhaving a further round of formal talks with the Poles or, as hasbeen mooted, with the East Germans.

2. But equally from time to time there are new countries withwhom it seems worth exploring the idea of Planning talks. In theaftermath of President Geisel's state visit we and LAD wonderedwhether one element in meeting the undertaking in the Anglo-Brazilian Memorandum of Understanding signed last year to promote"consultations on the whole spectrum of international relations inthe Western world" might be an exchange of views between Planners.We had previously learned from the Americans that they had foundplanning-type talks with the Brazilians of value, and the matterwas broached informally with the Brazilian MFA by the Embassy inBrasilia. The MFA responded positively and have suggested that

planning talks might talk place sometime after the middle ofNovember in Brasilia.

3. Before replying more formally to this invitation I should begrateful to have your approval in principle for the idea that I and

• another member of the Planning Staff should visit Brasilia forPlanning talks towards the end of this year. (The exact date willhave to fit in around other events in our calendar*) Up until nowthere have been no exchanges with a Latin American country, andboth LAD and we agree that Brazil would be the obvious place tostart, and that the talks would fit well with our overall aim oftrying to involve Brazil in looking at foreign affairs in the round.

B L CrowePlanning Staff

14 September 1976

RESTRICTED


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RESTRICTED

Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeLondon SW1A2AH

tsJxp!

S P St C Duncan EsqBritish EmbassyBRASILIA

Te lephoneOI- 3 6 7 3

Y ou r re fe re nc e Ô S 1 / 6

RECEIVED IN

REGISTRY No. 60

15SEPI976

Z%o2ĵ 3ok/

O u r r e f e r e n c e

Data 8 September 1976

ANGLO-BRAZILIAN PLANNING TALKS

(S^Thank you for your letter of 2 September. Now that we have agreed inprinciple to hold planning talks with the Brazilians, I haveagreed with Thorold Masefield that the Planning Staff will writeto you about the arrangements for the first round of talks, It_maybe some time before you hear from them because they have first toobtain financial authority for the visit and to agree dates for theJapanese planners to come to London. I have warned the Planning

Staff that January and the first half of February are unlikely tobe convenient for the Brazilians, if, as seems possible, they areunable to come before Christinas.

P j & k ^ '

PH N ixon v Latin:'America Department

cc: £ T Masefield EsqPlanning Staff

RESTRICTED


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British Embassy

Avenida das Naçoes CP 07 -05 86 Brasilia DF Brasil

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Your reference

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Latin America DepartmentForeign and Commonwealth Office RECEIVED IN 0

REGISTRY No. 60b

31 AUG1976 5

e-*ru-. ci~-r- lUsr r e f e r e nc e /> J ! $

(rt- fir A*f-Cre

August 1976

ANGLO-r-BRAZI L I AN PLANNING TALKS

1 Hi i ^ ^< m

r \ ^( j j ) P le a se r e f e r to y ou r l e t t e r o f 15 J u l y s u g g e s t i n g t he p o s s i b i l i t y

o f s e t t ing up such ta l k s w i th the B ra z i l i a n s .

2 . In pr inc ip le we favour the idea fo r the reason s you advance in yo url e t te r . I have d i s cu s sed the mat te r i n fo rm a l l y w i th M in i s t r o Gera ldoCava l can t i, the Fo re ign M in i s t e r ' s s p ec ia l ad v i se r , who you may r e c a l laccompanied Si lv e ir a to London at the time if the Stat e V is it . He wasvery receptive and mentioned the usefulness of the ta lks I tamaraty held

, f rom time to t ime w i th the Amer icans , o b se r v ing tha t the l a t t e r weré i nj fa ct the only co un try w ith whom they conducted su ch exc hange s.I Cav alcan ti sa id he would mention the m atter to the Fo re ign M in is te r who: would, he fe lt , welcome the idea.i\

, 3» He was however at some pains to point out that although he had been

appointed by the M in ist e r in a plan ning ca pa city in fa ct he had beenturned into a trouble-shooter and much of his t ime was taken up withI g iv in g advice on immediate p o l it io a l problems. U nl ike us, I tam araty hadj no planning s ta ff and in ta lk in g to the Americans they had been obl ige d> to draw in the departmental exper ts on ind iv id u a l su bje cts . Th is meant• that when ta lk s were held in Washington the agenda had to be re st r ic te di otherwise they would be faced w ith the o b l iga tio n to f ie ld a team ofj p o ss ib ly as many as eigh t people which would c le a rly be out of thej qu estio n.

4 . Cava l can t i s a id tha t i n sp i te o f h i s o the r p reoccupa t ion s h i sp r i n c i p a l ta s k was n e v e r t h e le s s t o c on s i d e r B r a z i l ' s f u t u r e i o l e i n t h eworld and to re la te the s t ructure of the M in i s t ry of Fore ign A ff a i r s toi t . Cu r rent ly the B ra z i l ia n D ip lomat ic Serv ice was w oe fu l ly undermannedand u r gen t a c t ion was neces sa r y to de f ine B r a z i l ' s expanding fo re i gnpol icy object ives over the next two decades and prov ide the s ta f f to ca r rythem out.

RESTR ICTED

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UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION - M in is tr y ofExterna l Re lat ions

« • 's .

Aide Memo ir e

J,With reference to the conversations conducted between

C ou nse l lor S-un ley Duncan and M in iste r Holanda Ca valca nt i on

3 of the current nonth, the Min istry of External Relat ions

views w ith inte rne t the idea of holding re gu lar meetings '

between o f f ic i a l s of Itamaraty and the Fo re ign and Commonwealth

Of f i ce P lann ing S taf f fo r the in formal d i scuss ion o f po l i t i ca l

and economic questions of an international character. *«

As was mentioned to Counsel lor Duncan the off ic ials part ic ipat ing

' on Itam ara ty 1s side would be basidally the members of the#

‘ M i n i s t e r ' s o f fic e .

Itamaraty would suggest that the f i rst meet ing of th is nature

should be held in B r a s i li a but not before the beginning of the

second half of November as the Brasi lian officials who would take

; pa rt in the t a lk s have alread y undertaken other commitments.

i

•BRASILIA•i

; 31/8/76


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5. We spoke vag ue ly about the tim ing of the ta lk s and Ca va lcan tire fe r red to the d i f f i cu l t y o f f i nd ing a s u i tab l e t ime i n the nea rfuture in the l i gh t of G e i se l ' s forthcoming State V i s i t to Japanand the convening of the United Nations General Assembly in theautumn. He agreed th at i f it were deoided to hold them the re wouldbe no point in meeting more frequently than, say, every year.

6 . I t was le ft th at Cava lcan ti would contact me again af te r hehad a chance to ta lk to h is M inis te r. My gene ral conc lus ion howeveris that the Br a z i l ia n s would l ik e to have such meetings, that atle as t the f i r s t one would probably need to he held in B r a s i l i a becauseof t h e i r s ta f f in g prob lems and f in a l l y that we might not succeed inse tt in g th is up u n ti l towards the end of the year. My own in c l in a tio nwould he to ask the Brazi l ians to suggest dates suitable to them inord er to avo id any fe e lin g tha t *we were tr y in g to push them int o some

th ing . But ou r own plan ne rs may of c ourse a lso have commitments.

S F St C Duncan

ii o _ + * > ? = T O = U Lc U > K K O K I . F > T T

Y&.;Y+';&-


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Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeL o n d o n S W 1 A 2 A H

Telephone01- 233-3673

S F St C Duncan EsqBritish Embassy

BRASILIA

Your reference

Our reference

Date 15 July 1976

\ ^ — ,POSSIBLE ANGLO-BRAZILIAN PLANNING TALKS

1. It has occurred to us that one element in meeting ourundertaking in the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year

to promote "consultations on the whole spectrum of internationalrelations in the Western world" might be an exchange of viewsbetween Planners.

2. The FCO Planniî g Staff, as you probably know, hold more orless regular discussions with theiropposite numbers inthe majorNATO countries and with a small but growing number of other countries,They have had formal talks with Japanese, Russians and Poles andhave contacts with others such as the Chinese, Indians, Indonesians,Iranians and Swedes as well as the Canadians and Australians, Upuntil now, however, there have been no such exchanges with a LatinAmerican country. Both we and the Planners think that Brazil wouldbe an obvious and useful place to start. It would certainly fitvery well with our overall aim of trying to involve the Braziliansmore in looking at foreign affairs across the board with economic,political and security aspects all interdependent. We would hope

that the talks themselves would demonstrate the increasingly closecoincidence of our interests,

3. From time to time the American Planning Staff have told ourown Planners that the Brazilian planners are good value. However,before asking you to put a formal proposal to the Itamaraty we shouldbe glad to know if you think that such talks would be a good ideain terms of Anglo-Brazilian relations and likely to be a worthwhileexchange for its own sake. We should have no objection to yourtaking informal soundings of the Itamaraty to see if they would beinterested.

A. The

CONFIDENTIAL

' 1l'/i


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CONFIDENTIAL

4 - 2 -

4. The Planning Staff's terms of reference have recently beenamended and I enclose for your information, a copy of thelatest circular describing them. I also enclose a copy of anunclassified handout which the Planners have in the past given totheir opposite numbers in other countries. It is too out of dateto pass to the Brazilians in its present form but you are free tomake such use of it as you wish. Planning talks themselves areusually wide-ranging and informal and do not commit governments.In recent exchanges with foreign planners the Planning Staff havediscussed such subjects as developments in Western Europe, thefuture of detente, Soviet and Chinese objectives in the ThirdWorld, the New International Economic Order, South East Asiaafter the fall of Saigon, and the balance of power in Asia.

5. In the light of your reply we would formulate more definiteproposals for talks suggesting dates, the duration of talks (usuallytwo days), subjects for discussion, the composiüon of teams (normallythe Head of the Planning Staff and one other supplemented by someonefrom the Embassy) and where the first meeting should be.

6. If it is decided to hold talks and they prove to be successfulwe would certainly hope for a return match and would be preparedto see them established on a regular basis, with exchanges perhapsevery year or two.

P M NixonLatin America Department

cc: J T Masefield Esq, Planning Staff

CONFIDENTIAL

Documents

Filename: Pages from 197_ NARAUK. PPS Brasil-UK.pdf