united kingdom'

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cçL 20th October,1982 The Rt. Hon. Mrs MargaretThatcher, Prime Ydnister, 10 Downing Street, London,

UNITEDKINGDOM'.

Dear Prime Minister, The Third Comonwealth Heads of Government RegionalMeetingfor Asia and Pacificwas held in Suva from 14th to 18th October. Fifteenof the seventeenHeads personally attended. We were able to discussglobalpoliticaland economic trends and their impact on the Asia-Pacificregion,as well as review regionalfunctionalco-operationamong the Commonwealth Stateswithin the region. Many of the areas of functionalcooperationthat were identifiedat the previoustwo CHOGRMhave and the meeting reachedthe stage of practicalimplementation was able to give new impetusto this. Among the matters of particularinterestto all paraticipantswas the forthcomingsigningof the Law of the Sea Conventionin Decemberthis year. Given the complexityand the diversityof was the generalview that the Convention it the subjectmatter is the best that could be achieved. It was recognisedthat the commdnity. treaty is of great significanceto the international It is of course, of particularimportancefor the small island developingcountrieswhich look to the resourcesof the sea for their future development. While welcomingthe adoptionof the Conventionafter nine years of negotiationsthe Heads of Governmentnoted wdth regret that some of our friends in the West, notably the United States,have indicatedthat they will not sign it. It is everyoneshope however,that the countries

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of Western Europe, such as the United Kingdomwhich has a lone historyof maritimetradition,will find it possibleto supportthe Conventionby signingit. I therefore,convey this expectationof my colleaguesat CHOGRMfor your Government'sconsideration. take this opportunityof enclosinga copy of the CHOCRM Communiquefor your information. With kind regards, Yours sincerely,

K.K.T. Mara Prime Minister