883.002/8–147
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State1
| Participants: | Secretary of State |
| His Excellency Nokrashy Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt | |
| Mahmoud Hassan, Ambassador of Egypt | |
| Stanley Woodward,2 S/S–PR | |
| Henry S. Villard, Acting Director, NEA |
I received His Excellency Nokrashy Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt, today by appointment. He was accompanied by the Egyptian Ambassador.
After a brief exchange concerning the history of Egypt, the Prime Minister explained that he had come to the United States to represent his country in the presentation of the Egyptian case to the Security Council on August 5. He said that in this appeal to the United Nations Egypt looked to the United States for support, for without such support Egypt could not win. He wished to explain some of the reasons why Egypt counted on the help of the United States and why Egypt had attempted to formulate her policies generally in accordance with those of the United States.
The Prime Minister said that Egypt was seriously hampered in her desire for full independence by the continued presence of British troops on Egyptian soil. In accordance with the terms of her treaty with Great Britain, Egypt was prevented from raising an army of her own. The forces that were allowed to Egypt, numbering some 18,000 men, were sufficient only for police purposes and the spirit had in general gone out of the Egyptian army. It was essential for Egypt to arm herself in preparation for defense since, in the Prime Minister’s opinion, the next world war might well start in Egypt.
If the British troops remaining in Egypt were removed, Egypt would be free to establish her own national defense forces and could be expected to develop an adequate army. The security of the area would thus be enhanced and Egypt would be able to take her rightful [Page 786] place among the nations of that region. The United States, he felt certain, would be interested in the contribution which Egypt could therefore make to the “democratic bloc”.
The Prime Minister said he was also sure that the United States favored industrialization as a means of developing friendly relations among the peoples of the world. Egypt was on the verge of an industrialization program. Moreover, Egypt feared communism and was anti-communist in sentiment, primarily because communism was contrary to the Moslem religion. I asked the Prime Minister to define the latter statement. He explained that the Moslem religion laid stress on the rights of the individual, that it respected private enterprise as well as private property. Basically the Moslem religion was opposed to the concept of communism.
If British troops were not removed from Egypt and Egypt was unable to develop her own forces, a feeling of discontent would arise among the masses. This would inevitably lead to the spread of communist propaganda and Egypt would thus afford a fertile field for communist infiltration.
I asked the Prime Minister about the population of Egypt. He replied that there were 26,000,000 inhabitants, including the Sudan. I then asked about the rate of literacy. The Prime Minister thought it was approximately 25 percent, not including the Sudan. He explained some of the steps which had been taken to increase the educational standards.
The Ambassador added further details in regard to the alleged failure of the British, while in control of Egypt, to do anything to improve the literacy standards. He went at some length into the reasons for Egyptian dissatisfaction with the British. He added that if Egypt were treated as an equal and as an independent nation, Egypt could be called upon in any future struggle involving the “democratic bloc”. If not, it was to be feared that Egyptian support for the democracies would not be forthcoming.
At the conclusion of the interview I expressed my personal pleasure at having had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister. I said that I had listened with intense interest to what the Prime Minister had to say and that he could rest assured his views would be very carefully taken into account by this Government.