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Much co-ordination between Government Departments is arranged by the Prime Minister's Department and the Cabinet Secretariat (through which the Prime Minister ensures the co-ordination of governmental action), and by the Department of External Affairs (through which the internal application of the Government's external policy is secured). Close co-operation with other Departments in such matters as international economic and commercial policy is essential. In particular, the necessity for complete harmony between foreign and defence intelligence and policies is recognized by the Government; an officer of the Department is associated with all aspects of the work of the top-level Service Committees. Proposals are at present under consideration for extending and consolidating this liaison. To ensure co-ordination in New Zealand's outside relations the Ministry of External Affairs is used as the channel of communication between the New Zealand Government and overseas Governments or organizations and between the Government and its Diplomatic Ministers, High Commissioners, and Consuls overseas. The Department is thus a clearing-house and co-ordinating centre for a wide range of material, which in certain cases is passed on for detailed action to the appropriate Departments. In the case of such technical bodies as UNESCO, FAO, and the World Health Organization, in their formative stages when the problems raised were mainly in the field of international organization and procedure and higher policy, it has been necessary for the Department to take a large measure of responsibility. The great increase in the volume of New Zealand's international relations and responsibilities throws a heavy strain on a staff which has deliberately been kept as small as possible and built up carefully. Of the total staff of the joint Prime Minister's and External Affairs Departments, fewer than twenty are actually engaged in working upon the problems of external affairs recorded in this report. It will therefore be apparent that the Department's resources are spread thinly over a wide field. Two diplomatic secretaries have been added to the staff during the year, but this does not fully meet the needs of the Department, nor does it provide a pool which can be drawn upon to augment the staffs of New Zealand's existing posts abroad. Appendix 2 lists the international conferences at which New Zealand was represented during the year. For certain conferences, especially those of a technical nature, officials drawn from various Government Departments were sent from New Zealand. By sending such specialists New Zealand makes a better contribution to international co-operation upon such technical questions as health