786.00/11–2250
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Officer in Charge of Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Affairs (Stabler)
Subject: Exchange of views with Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League
| Participants: | Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League |
| NEA—Mr. McGhee | |
| NE—Mr. Lewis Jones | |
| NE—Mr. Stabler |
Problem:
To exchange views with Azzam Pasha on matters affecting US-Arab relations.
Action Required: None
Action Assigned to: —
Discussion:
After an exchange of amenities Mr. McGhee said that he was much interested by Azzam Pasha’s talk at Mr. Webb’s lunch the day before regarding Moslem theocracy and wanted to continue that discussion with him. However, today he wished to discuss practical matters of importance to the Arab States and the U.S. and he hoped that Azzam Pasha would be quite frank in discussing matters with us. He pointed to the easy relationship which existed between ourselves and the British and others, and hoped that the same easy relationship could also be achieved between the U.S. and the Arab States.
1. Palestine
Azzam Pasha said that he was concerned by the way things were developing in the General Assembly on the resolution regarding Palestine which was sponsored by the U.S. and the UK. He felt that this resolution, in its present form, opened the door to further discussions regarding the right of the refugees to return to their homes. The Arab States considered that this right was inalienable and that there could be no further discussion or negotiation on this point. He said that no Arab statesman could return to his country if he agreed to any compromise on this question. He hoped the U.S. would take the lead in setting forth clearly in the resolution that the only point of negotiation with regard to refugees was the manner in which the refugees would be returned to their homes.
Mr. McGhee said that the U.S. still supported the right of repatriation and recognized the difficulties confronting the Arab statesmen. However, the U.S. felt that the Arab States should move forward in reintegrating those refugees who did not wish to return home. He pointed to the impossibility of large numbers returning to Israel and felt that the refugees should be made aware of facts of life in this connection. Azzam Pasha said that the Arab League had decided to cooperate with the PRA and he believed that the Arab States would make continuing efforts to resettle the large numbers of refugees which would not return. He felt that on the whole the Arab States wanted to shelve the Palestine question and to resume the relationship with the U.S. which had been enjoyed prior to this problem. However, there had been a real disillusionment in the Arab States regarding the U.S. because they had always looked upon us as a fair and just nation which would follow a policy of morality and not expediency. The hurt which the Arabs had received had been very great and we could [Page 1058] not expect it to be removed merely within a year or two. He hoped that Palestine would soon become a matter of history, but he indicated that the Arab States still expected the U.S. to make a positive contribution to the solution of the problem.
Azzam Pasha said that the Arabs felt that the U.S. was unreasonably pressing them to negotiate directly with Israel. They felt that nothing could come of such direct negotiations and remarked that at the time the Egyptian representative talked privately this year with the Israeli representative in Switzerland, the Israeli representative had offered nothing to Egypt except its assistance in getting the British out of Egypt. Mr. McGhee said that we did not wish to press the Arabs in direct negotiations, although we believed that this was the only way in which they could settle their differences with Israel. By refusing to negotiate with Israel the Arab States left themselves open to strong criticism that they were opposing the restoration of peace.
Mr. McGhee indicated that the U.S. wanted the Palestine question to be put aside so that our genuine desire to cooperate with the Arab States would not continually be frustrated. We were anxious to restore relations to a basis of mutual confidence and trust, and to work with the Arab States in many fields. Azzam Pasha said that that was what he too wished but hoped that the U.S. would follow a genuine policy of cooperation and not always slant things toward Israel. While he recognized that the State Department had always been friendly with the Arabs, this could not be said of other branches of this Government. He pointed to the large numbers of Jewish delegations which were received by the White House while Arabs were never received. He also referred to the large amounts of money collected in this country for Israel. Mr. McGhee pointed out that the President was glad to receive Arab leaders at any time and it was quite natural that he should receive Jewish delegations as he received any other delegation. With respect to the money it was privately collected and the U.S. Government had no control over this.
2. Economic Assistance
Mr. McGhee said the U.S. was happy to consider economic assistance to the Arab States but that the Arab States never came forward with any definite ideas of what they wanted. Azzam Pasha said that it was his view that the Arab States did not need a Marshall Plan. There was plenty of money in the Arab States and the introduction of financial assistance would certainly lead to greater corruption and indolence. What the Arab States needed was economic guidance on how to develop what they had. As an example, he mentioned the possibility of increasing and streamlining the production and the marketing of Egyptian vegetables. He believed that if American experts could advise on some such plan and give the Egyptians the benefit of their [Page 1059] know-how, markets could be found in Europe and even in the U.S. He proposed that a team of American technicians come out to the Near East, possibly at the invitation of the Arab League, to make a large scale survey of economic conditions in the Near East. This survey should not be made in a matter of weeks but should be carried on over a longish period of time in order that it could make a thorough examination of development projects. As a result of such a survey advice could be given on certain types of development projects which could be carried out with capital available in Arab countries as well as foreign capital.
3. Arab League
Referring to the previous point Mr. McGhee said that in our view the Arab League could make many contributions to social, economic and cultural welfare of the area as a whole. For example, he wondered whether the Arab League could take part in the Point IV Program on a regional basis and take responsibility for certain projects which individual countries could not. Socio-economic problems were similar throughout the area and we felt that the Arab League could play a major role in the solution of these problems. Azzam Pasha reviewed at considerable length the various committees which are established by the League Charter and indicated that in his opinion the League was doing a considerable amount in these fields. He particularly pointed to the part that Egypt was playing in providing teachers for certain Arab countries and in establishing institutions of higher education in Cairo which were available to students from the entire Arab world.
[Here follows discussion of Eritrea, Syria, and the Anglo-Egyptian question.]