The Under Secretary of State (Webb) to the Chairman of the National Advisory Council (Snyder)2
My Dear Mr. Chairman: As you know, the Department of State has been considering a number of the policy problems raised by the Point Four proposal of the President’s inaugural address, calling for a bold new program of technical cooperation and fostering of capital investment, which would aid underdeveloped countries in their efforts to improve their living standards. It has had most valuable help from the ad hoc Advisory Committee on Technical Assistance; the participation of the Treasury representative in this group has been very much appreciated.
It is apparent that the capital investment aspect of this program has a close relationship to the technical cooperation aspect. The Department would find it very helpful, therefore, if the National Advisory Council would undertake to make recommendations as soon as feasible concerning measures that the Government might take in order to encourage the international flow of investment capital, so that we may have the benefit of these recommendations in presenting a rounded program to the President, It is suggested that during the formulation of these recommendations, there should be joint consideration with the Executive Committee for Economic Foreign Policy where appropriate.
The Advisory Committee on Technical Assistance has participated in the development of the enclosed papers,* describing the general objectives and nature of the Point Four program and the relationship [Page 774] of capital investment to the technical cooperation aspects of this program, as we see them. I hope the members of the Council will find these useful in considering their recommendations.
Sincerely yours,
- Master file of the documents of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems for the years 1945–1958, as maintained by the Bureau of Economic Affairs of the Department of State (FRC Accession No. 71 A 6682, boxes 362–376). The National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems was established pursuant to the Bretton Woods Agreements Act of July 31, 1945 (59 Stat. 512), to effect coordination among U.S. Government agencies in the formulation and implementation of the foreign financial policies of the United States.↩
- Source text from Attachment A to NAC Document No. 811.↩
- These papers have been distributed as attachments to NAC Document No. 797. [Footnote in the source text; papers not printed.]↩