883.5151/50: Telegram
The Minister in Egypt (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 2—5:10 p.m.]
1496. My 1405, September 17, 6 [8] p.m. In view of the fact that the Ministry of Finance issued an order published in the Journal Officiel of September 15 setting September 30 as the date before which the dollar holdings of persons residing in Egypt should be declared I repeatedly requested the Minister for Foreign Affairs at least to exempt American citizens and companies from making such declarations pending a final decision on the matter. Today the Minister for Foreign Affairs telephoned me to say that the Minister of Finance had prolonged the period in which the declaration might be made until a solution of the matter had been attained.
The Legation understands that the Egyptian authorities with the view to following a procedure similar to that of the British had requested the British Embassy here to furnish them detailed information [Page 339] on the legal exemptions granted to American citizens residing in the United Kingdom in respect of this matter, that the British Embassy had received such information only yesterday and that accordingly the Egyptian authorities were not in the position to reach a decision prior to the date on which the declarations should have been made.