Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume IX, International Development and Economic Defense Policy; Commodities

126. Telegram From the Embassy in Italy to the Department of State¹

Rome, October 22, 1966, 1515Z.

2149. FODAG. From USDel FAO Council. Subj: Food production resources program. Ref: State 71127.²

1. Mrs. Jacobson privately conveyed to Sen substance para 3 of State 69229.³ She did not, however, in deference GG understanding, disclose our final position of willingness support jointly study plus ad hoc committee.

2. Early in discussion Sen said he had in mind suggesting Council set up ad hoc committee to study his proposal. As discussion progressed Sen volunteered and repeated several times that he had no objection to joint study including UN and IBRD.

3. We believe this meets objectives of State 69229 and 71127 without violating GG agreement reported Rome 2130.⁴ Will report further following Monday’s discussion.⁵

Reinhardt

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, AGR 3 FAO. Limited Official Use; Priority.
2. Telegram 71127 to Rome, October 21, argued that any delay while waiting to hear the “trend of opinion” on Sen’s proposal or until he submitted it would make the situation “much more difficult to retrieve,” and it thus instructed Jacobson to “see Sen promptly with or without other Dels and convey to him the substance of para 3 of Deptel 69229.” (Ibid.)
3. Document 125.
4. Telegram 2130 from Rome, October 21, reported that a caucus of the Geneva Group (FAO) on October 20 agreed to listen to the debate at the October 24 meeting; and after Sen made his anticipated study offer, the U.S. Delegation would request a 48-hour postponement to allow for consultations with other governments. (Department of State, Central Files, AGR 3 FAO)
5. No record of a discussion on Monday, October 24, has been found. Telegram 2239 from Rome, October 27, transmitted the text of a report agreed to by the FAO Council and Sen after long discussions on October 26 and 27. (Ibid.) Although the Department of State transmitted a few minor changes in the text, the message arrived 3 hours after the final adjournment of the session, which adopted the report with only other minor revisions and without substantive debate. The approved report provided, among other things, for the creation of an ad hoc committee of 20 nations, divided equally between developed and developing nations, which would consult with Sen on the “conduct and content of a study that would examine problem of increasing the availability of agricultural production resources to developing nations” and make a progress report on the study to the 48th session of the Council. (Telegram 74506 to Rome, October 27, and telegram 2276 from Rome, October 28; both ibid.)