711.8321/22
The Minister in Egypt ( Fish ) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 11.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatches No. 2091 of May 7, 1940, and No. 2135 of June 17, 1940,60 relative to the model consular convention drawn up by the Egyptian Foreign Office, and to transmit herewith a translation of this model convention together with certain comments prepared by the Legation.61
It may be pointed out that the comments which form enclosure No. 2 to this despatch are intended to be read in conjuction with the comments on the Egyptian draft convention compiled by Vice Consul Daniel Gaudin, Jr. at Alexandria and transmitted to the Department as an enclosure to the Legation’s despatch No. 2135 dated June 17, 1940.
[Page 521]To summarize briefly the Legation’s views regarding the Egyptian draft convention, there would appear to be no essential differences between this draft and the American draft transmitted to the Legation by the Department’s instruction No. 416 of September 13, 1939.62 The Egyptian model convention, however, is more detailed and in many respects more cumbersome than the American one and it is believed that the extra details serve to render it more difficult of interpretation and to lessen its practical applicability. It is consequently the opinion of the Legation that, providing the consent of the Egyptian Government were obtained to such a procedure, it would be preferable to use the simpler American draft as a basis for negotiation and to make such additions and emendations to that draft as might prove necessary in order to bring it into line with the desires of the Egyptian Government.
Respectfully yours,
[In telegram No. 215, June 13, 1941, 7 p.m., to the Minister in Egypt, the Department stated that it would be preferable to use the American draft as a basis for negotiations and continued:
“This Government will gladly consider alterations in its draft which the Egyptian Government may deem desirable. Department is continuing to examine the American draft in comparison with the Egyptian counterdraft and in the light of further developments, and will communicate with the Legation concerning revisions to be made in American draft. Meanwhile endeavor to ascertain attitude of Egyptian Government regarding use of American draft as a basis.” (711.8321/24)
No record of further negotiations on this subject has been found in Department files for the war period.]
- Despatch No. 2135 and its enclosures not printed.↩
- Neither printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1939, vol. iv, p. 477.↩