560.AL/8–2846
The United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs (Owen) to the Under Secretary of State (Clayton)
My Dear Mr. Clayton: I am in receipt of your note dated August 16, concerning the meeting of the Preparatory Committee of the International Conference on Trade and Employment. I have taken very good note of your remarks and I wish to thank you for your extremely [Page 1345] generous offer to supply staff who will assist in servicing the meeting.
I am pleased to be able to inform you that your offer has greatly facilitated the task of the Conference and General Services Department and—subject to certain other staffing requirements being satisfactorily dealt with in the next few days—it will in fact be possible for the meeting to take place on October 15 as originally planned.88 We will confirm the date of the meeting at the earliest possible opportunity.89
Sincerely yours,
- The Department had reacted strongly to an alarm raised by the Secretariat of the United Nations, that the London meeting of the Preparatory Committee would have to be postponed because of the absorption of available technical conference personnel by the session of the General Assembly of the United Nations planned for the autumn months in New York. This problem arose late in July, and the Department made the most strenuous efforts throughout August to maintain the projected October 15 date. Approaches had been made especially to the Governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, and France in this effort. Documentation regarding these matters is found in the 560.AL file.↩
- The national missions at the seat of the United Nations were informed officially of the October 15 date by the Secretary-General on August 31; the Department was so informed in telegram 532, August 31, from New York, not printed.↩