HC Deb 08 July 1969 vol 786 cc235-6W
Q11. Mr. Hector Hughes

asked the Prime Minister if he will, during his forthcoming visit to Scandinavia, have discussions with a view to improving the trade relations and international communications between Scandinavia and North-East Scotland.

The Prime Minister

My hon. Friend will be glad to know that in our discussion of the possibilities of collaboration in the field of civil nuclear energy the Swedish Government showed considerable interest in our pioneer work at Dounreay on fast-breeder reactors.

Q12. Mr. Marten

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his visit to Sweden.

The Prime Minister

Following his visit to the United Kingdom last year, the Prime Minister of Sweden invited me to make an official visit to his country. At the beginning of the visit I had the honour of being received by His Majesty The King of Sweden, for whom we in this country have the highest and most friendly regard. Anglo-Swedish relations are, of course, traditionally close and cordial. I am glad to say that the discussions which I had with Mr. Erlander and other members of his Government on this occasion confirmed once more a broad identity of views on the major issues on which we touched.

Our talks, which were, of course, confidential, were not restricted to European or bilateral questions. We had a full discussion on Nigeria. In particular, we welcomed the progress which has been made in the last few days in talks between the Federal Government and the I.C.R.C. on the institution of daylight flights. We also had a thorough review of the problems of European integration, and we touched on a number of other matters of international interest, including East/West relations, the Middle East and Vietnam. I was glad to be able to discuss disarmament with the Swedish Government and to inform them of our ideas on the prevention of biological warfare.

I also had a series of discussions with the Swedish Prime Minister and other members of his Cabinet at his country residence at Harpsund, where we were joined by the Finnish Prime Minister, the German Foreign Minister and others. These discussions covered a wide range of subjects and particularly European integration.