MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands fact-finding visit by British Ambassador-designate.
BRITISH Ambassador-designate to Buenos Aires, Mr. John Hughes was in the Falklands on a fact-finding tour this week accompanied by Mr. Tony Crombie,Head of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Overseas Territories
Department.
Mr. Hughes, who takes up his appointment on the 5th November, is no stranger to the South American political scene, having been Ambassador to Venezuela immediately preceding ex-Falklands governor, Donald Lamont. Between 1983 and 1985, Mr.Hughes also served as Head of the Political Section in the British Embassy in Santiago, Chile.
The visitors arrived in the Islands on Monday and spent Tuesday meeting a variety of Government officials, and members of the Falkland Islands business community. On Wednesday they flew to Port Stephens, accompanied by Governor, Mr.Howard Pearce, traveling overland from there to Port Howard, where they spent the night. From Port Howard they drove to Hill Cove, returning to Stanley by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service in the afternoon for a press conference with local media.. A meeting with members of Legislative Council, followed by dinner at Government House is planned for Thursday evening and Friday will be spent with the military at the Mount Pleasant Airport. Mr Hughes and Mr Crombie leave for the UK on Saturday's Airbus.
First time visitors to the Falklands, Mr. Hughes and Mr.Crombie stated that they were impressed by the size of the archipelago and by the warmth of the hospitality received during their visit. The ambassador-designate said that seeing the Islands first hand had "made them come alive".
At the meeting with local media held at Government House, Ambassador-designate Mr.Hughes was clearly and naturally reluctant to talk about policy, in advance of taking up his post, but the Governor gave a resounding affirmative to the suggestion that the new ambassador would continue the effort which his predecessor Sir Robin Christopher recently described as trying to join together both the letter and the spirit of the July 1999 Agreement between Britain and Argentina.
Mr.Crombie echoed a recent statement made by the Governor in stating that it was the hope of the UK Government to continue to pursue a "constructive and positive" approach to bilateral relations with Argentina. He emphasised that there were a number of positive areas of mutual interest and cooperation, of which international peace keeping was a good example.
John Fowler (MP)Stanley
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