Office of the Historian

51. Letter From Secretary of State Haig to Secretary of the Treasury Regan1

Washington, September 28, 1981
Dear Don:

I want to share with you my concerns over the press reports, and some of the private reactions I have had to our new approach to the [Page 152] multilateral development banks.2 The impression and tone left by the press is that somehow we are going to take dramatic actions to abruptly push a number of developing countries off of bank lending or from soft to hard lending in the banks. The Brazilian Foreign Minister has already expressed his great concern over this.

I know our people have been working closely together on the Treasury Report and believe it represents a moderate and well-reasoned document which does not imply a rapid graduation process but one based on credit worthiness. I am also aware that the overall objective is to strengthen these institutions and ensure that the money goes to those who need it most and can use it best. But the public impression is now one of extreme negativism and radical departure from past policies.

Especially in the period before Cancun, it is important that the attitude we take toward the LDCs and the banks be as constructive as possible. I know that this is your personal view, and I believe that your speech before the Bank/Fund meeting embodies a positive approach.3 I hope that this same approach can be actively pursued in meetings with the press and bilaterals as well. The more positively we can present our suggestions and our policies, the more likely the chance of acceptance. Moreover, this will set an excellent tone for Cancun, which will certainly improve the prospects of the President being able to obtain his objectives there.

I look forward to our having the chance to discuss with you the Cancun meeting as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.4
  1. Source: Department of State, Executive Secretariat, S/S–I Records, Exdis Memorandum of the Secretariat 1981 and 1981 Nodis Memorandum, Lot 88D99: Nodis—September 1981. Confidential.↩
  2. See Documents 266 and 267.↩
  3. The annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund took place in Washington from September 29 to October 2.↩
  4. Haig signed “Al” above his typed signature.↩