§ Mr. Nealeasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many visits to Japan have been made by Ministers for discussion on or related to telecommunications matters since 1 January 1982; what was the duration of each visit and its purpose; and what was discussed.
§ Mr. Kenneth Baker[pursuant to the reply, 29 March 1984]: There have been two such visits since 1 January 1982, the details of which are as follows:
- i. My hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry, visited Japan between 30 May and 4 June 1982 to discuss a range of industrial subjects including telecommunications co-operation and collaboration.
- ii. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry visited Japan between 18 and 22 January 1983. The purpose of the visit was to promote Anglo-Japanese industrial cooperation and to stimulate Japanese investment into the United Kingdom and included some discussion on collaborative projects in the telecommunications sector.
§ Mr. Nealeasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many visits to Japan have been made by officials of his Department on or related to telecommunications matters since 1 January 1982; how many officials participated in each visit; what was the duration of each 347W visit and its purpose; what was discussed; and how many British Telecom staff formed part of the missiion in each case.
§ Mr. Kenneth Baker[pursuant to his reply, 29 March 1984]: There have been three such visits since 1 January 1982, the details of which are as follows:
- i. On 18.19 November 1982 the third in a series of meetings between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry took place in Tokyo. Five officials attended. The purpose of the discussions was to promote industrial co-operation between Japanese and British firms including those within the telecommunications sector.
- ii. On 20.21 June 1983 two senior officials from the Department of Trade and Industry accompanied by four British Telecom staff visited Tokyo for the second in a series of meetings aimed at improving bilateral co-operation with Japan in the field of telecommunications. An exchange of views took place at the meeting on various aspects of telecommunications policies and relevant matters.
- iii. Between 16 and 21 January 1984 a senior official from the Department of Trade and Industry visited Japan to discuss industrial collaboration and inward investment. These discussions included the telecommunications industry.
§ Mr. Nealeasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance his Department has given to British Telecom in arranging visits to Japan made by British Telecom staff other than as part of Government missions since 1 January 1982.
§ Mr. Kenneth Baker[pursuant to his reply, 29 March 1984]: British Telecom staff are able to benefit from the visiting engineers' scheme operated by the Department of Trade and Industry, which encourages the exchange of technical staff between the United Kingdom and Japan. In addition, as a result of an agreement in September 1981 between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and Mr. I. Yamanouchi, the Japanese Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, British Telecom, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) and Kokusai Denshin Dewa Co. Ltd. (KDD) have arranged a number of exchange visits for technical staff.