§ Q1. Mr. John Hannamasked the Prime Minister if he will now seek to make an official visit to South America.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Edward Heath)I have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Mr. HannamWhile I appreciate the pressures and commitments which prevent my right hon. Friend from visiting this rapidly developing and friendly trading area, does he agree that there is every indication of a strong and growing desire by this trading area, worth more than £4,000 million a year, for better, more fruitful and expanding trade relationships with this country? Will he consider the implementation of such measures as bilateral trade agreements and investment guarantees?
§ The Prime MinisterMany firms in this country have long had well-established trading relations with particular countries in Latin America. We regard it as a very important market. As to bilateral trading agreements, this country operates under the multilateral arrangements of the G.A.T.T. Investment guarantees are being investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry, and I hope that it will be possible to make a statement about them fairly soon.
§ Mr. LiptonIf the right hon. Gentleman went to the Argentine or some other South American country, could not he pick up one or two useful hints about how to get rid of unpopular colleagues?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Argentine would appear to have applied the procedure in reverse, which is not one that I wish to accept.