845.24/25
Press Release Issued by the Department of State, March 6, 1942
The military situation in southeastern Asia emphasizes the need to develop fully, and as rapidly as feasible, the industrial resources of India as a supply base for the armed forces of the United Nations in the Near East and the Far East. The Government of the United States, accordingly, inquired whether the Government of India would agree to the despatch to India of a technical mission which could examine and report on the possibilities of American assistance in such development. The Government of India has expressed its readiness to receive such a mission and has invited it to be its guests during the mission’s stay in India. Accordingly it has been decided that the mission should proceed to India as soon as possible.
It is hoped to announce the personnel of the mission shortly. The Government of the United States and the Government of India earnestly hope that this step in American-Indian collaboration may serve to make an effective contribution to the success of the United Nations in the war against aggression.