890F.248/6–2445: Telegram
The Minister in Saudi Arabia ( Eddy ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:25 p.m.]
245. Summoned by King I leave for Riyadh June 29 or 30 to receive his reply to offer of military services committed in Legs despatch 124, May 13, enclosure 1 b and enclosure 3.41
My anxiety re resources for improvements and public works (Legs 243, June 2342) already justified by visit from Acting Foreign Minister who, without any prompting whatsoever, inquired: [Page 915]
“Is there any way the friendly US Govt can assist us in public improvements such as water supply to cities and electric power? Could some of these such as bringing water from Wadi Fatima to Jidda surveyed by US Army and Aramco engineers be done by lend-lease?
Brit engineers have recently made proposals but we prefer first to explore all possibilities of public works developed with US cooperation.”
To the possibilities of military lend-lease I would respectfully repeat recommendation for improvements Jidda airport (Dept’s 130, May 3, last) though this has not been reopened with me by Saudi Govt.
- Despatch not printed, but see footnote 2, p. 893. Enclosure 1 was Mr. Eddy’s note of May 9, paragraph b of which dealt with offers of assistance to Saudi Arabia in the form of a military mission and improvement of the road between Dhahran and Riyadh; enclosure 3 was Mr. Eddy’s note of May 11 which gave more detailed information on the scope of such assistance in connection with the training of pilots and ground crews, medical services, technical army services, and miscellaneous services.↩
- Not printed; it reported that with the postponement of long-range budgetary assistance to the Saudi Arabian Government, a danger existed that sterling credits might prove the only means of financing public services (890F.51/6–2345).↩