HC Deb 06 July 1972 vol 840 cc743-4
Q2. Mr. Adley

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement following his official discussions with the Shah of Iran.

The Prime Minister

The Shah of Iran and Empress Farah visited Britain privately as the guests of Her Majesty The Queen from 21st to 25th June. Iran is a close and valued ally, and I was glad to have this opportunity for friendly and wide-ranging discussions with the Shah.

Mr. Adley

Has my right hon. Friend seen the article which appears today in the Financial Times about the oil-producing countries? Is it not encouraging that we have received proposals from the Shah of a stable country in a notoriously difficult part of the world? Is it not also encouraging for British industry that the Shah has shown such confidence in Concorde by intimating a wish to place an order?

The Prime Minister

We are obviously delighted that Iran has placed a firm order for three Concordes. The proposals which were finally agreed between the Shah and the oil companies are of a different nature from those being pursued in the rest of OPEC. I told the Shah that we welcomed these proposals and the agreement which is being reached because they seemed to holdout prospects of a firm long-term arrangement which will be satisfactory to Iran, to the oil companies and to the oil-consuming countries.

Mr. Harold Wilson

Having had a discussion with His Majesty after the Prime Minister and heard his ideas about a long-term contract with the prices varying with that of a representative basket of commodities, I take it that the Prime Minister supports the idea, as it will give some stability to our oil purchases. Will he further consider the idea which both he and I discussed with the Shah that this might be a way of producing stability in our relations with developing countries so that their returns, like those of the Iranian oil industry, could have some stability based on a representative index of commodity prices?

The Prime Minister

The Government have no direct responsibility because negotiations are carried on between the companies and the other countries. Now that Iran has reached an agreement—which has been welcomed, as the right hon. Gentleman said, by Governments, companies and consumers as giving long-term stability—I hope the OPEC countries will examine this agreement carefully.