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

89. Telegram From the Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to the Department of State¹

Paris, July 24, 1964, 9 p.m.

CEDTO 88. From Brown, ADCOR. Subj: DAC high level meeting, July 23–24. DAC high level meeting concluded afternoon July 24 with agreement on following major subjects:

1. DAC will concentrate on following major problems: requirements for and supply of aid in light of performance by less-developed countries, including thorough examination of “gap theory” and examination specific countries; terms and conditions of aid, indebtedness, suppliers credits and other short and medium term credits, particularly effect on development; coordination of aid programs.

Working parties to be established for first two subjects. On coordination, consideration will be undertaken after DAC meeting in the fall to determine if working party required. Work in these fields to move forward with a view to consideration by Ministers at a meeting early in 1965.

2. After comprehensive discussion on the U.S. proposal for a ministerial meeting after the first of the year, agreement was reached on including the communique sentence worded to the effect that “DAC envisaged the possibility of holding a ministerial level meeting early in 1965.”²

3. Meeting also agreed DAC would establish working party on UNCTAD. Immediate task of this working party is to review the Geneva conference, the agreements and disagreements, with ultimate objective of trying to reach consensus among DAC members on questions likely to arise at UN. Governments will be asked to select representatives to the meeting who were at Geneva, if possible, and to work with the secretariat on organizing material for the working party which will start its work early in September.

4. DAC to strengthen its work in the field of technical assistance.

5. Chairman to undertake mutual evaluation of individual country aid/performance in form of confidential letters to individual governments. This will be undertaken as experiment and await reactions from governments following first year’s evaluation. Chairman will be mailing letters to all DAC members July 27.

6. Secretariat will develop ideas on how to improve publicity on common aid effort of DAC aid countries, also to prepare pros and cons on Canadian suggestion of occasional DAC meetings in capitals.

7. Chairman’s report will be submitted to Council for publication.

8. Both Secretary General and certain countries including Italy, Netherlands, and Belgium throughout meeting stressed importance of UNCTAD for future work of the DAC and need for reaching common positions on UNCTAD follow-up. While U.S. did not dispute importance of UNCTAD to DAC activities, U.S. Representative made clear our view that work should proceed on three major problems of volume of aid, terms and conditions of aid, and coordination of aid programs, on their own merits and as quickly as possible and that it was these problems which would be considered at proposed ministerial meeting.

More detailed airgram follows.³

Finletter ⁴

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, AID 1. Limited Official Use.
2. See the communique, Document 88, which contains this language.
3. CEDTO A–76 from Paris; see footnote 1, Document 88.
4. Until early 1965, the U.S. Delegation to the OECD, headed by John M. Leddy, was an element of the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations (USRO) in Paris. As Chief of Mission, Thomas K. Finletter signed all documents originating in USRO. Document 107, signed by Leddy reflects a reorganization in early 1965 that made the U.S. Mission to the OECD a separate Mission.