CONFIDENTIAL 5. Whether or not you make use of this argument will depend on which way you exercise the discretion given in my comment on Rae's paragraph 2(c). If you do use it you will obviously not want to over emphasise the difficulty mentioned in the second half of this paragraph, since we are going to give the aid whether or not the Sultan does anything about port improvement. 7. Here again my comments on paragraph 2(c) are relevant and you have the same discretion. I am inclined to share the Foreign Office view that when it comes to the time the Sultan would probably prefer Development Division - if anyone - to any outside consultants, even an organisation as competent as the Economic Intelligence Unit. 8. This requires no comment. 9. Past experience has shown that the Sultan is a stickler for conventional form and precedents and I would see no point in putting up any strong resistance to restoring the preamble and subscript" if he so requests. Will you please let me and the others concerned know whether you decide to include or omit paragraph 4 of the Draft Agreed Minute which you will be putting to the Sultan. Will you also please let us know what date you will be going to Salalah to open the negotiations. If in the course of negotiations you run into any difficulties beyond the power of discretion given you, you should of course refer back by telegram to the Ministry of Overseas Development and myself. If all goes well I would like to exchange the agreed documents with the Sultan on a visit to Salalah towards the end of February and I shall be grateful if you will inform him accordingly at the appropriate moment. 3. I am copying this letter to Rae and the recipients of his letter under reference.
