Conference Files: Lot 59 D 95: CF 20
Communiqué Agreed Upon by the Foreign Ministers1
MIN/TRI/P/30
The three Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, France and the United States concluded today their discussions which began on Thursday.
These discussions dealt with many of the problems in various parts of the world where the interests of their countries are engaged. Their main and common purpose has been directed towards reducing the risks of war and establishing the conditions of a lasting peace in accordance with the desire of all peoples. In the view of the Ministers this requires a closer coordination in the employment of their joint resources to underpin their economies in such a manner as to permit the full maintenance of their social and material standards as well as the adequate development of the necessary defence measures. The Ministers are confident that the peoples of the free world who command by far the greater part of the industrial and technical resources of mankind can achieve both of these aims.
The strength of the free world will never be used for aggressive purposes. The Ministers find it necessary to restate this fundamental truth in the face of the calculated campaign of misrepresentation of our purposes and policies conducted by the only militaristic and aggressive power in the world.
Faith in freedom should not be taken for granted but should be built into a dynamic force and steps should be taken to increase public understanding of the exact nature, methods and dangers of the threat to its existence.
The Ministers agreed upon the main lines of their policy in all parts of the world. Consideration was given to their policy regarding Germany and they agreed upon a General declaration in regard to it.2 This is being communicated immediately to the German Federal Government and will be published on Monday, 15th May. The Ministers reaffirmed their long declared desire for an early Austrian treaty and hoped to have a further exchange of views on this subject in the next few days.
The Ministers surveyed the situation in South East Asia in the light of the emergence as independent nations of a number of countries who had not previously been in control of their own affairs and [Page 1107] of the fresh problems created by the advance of Communist imperialism to the borders of this area. The Ministers express the firm intention of encouraging and supporting those new governments. They consider that the region as a whole is economically under-developed and that it is desirable that all the governments in the region should collaborate to intensify measures of development designed to raise the general standard of living.
They were agreed as to the seriousness of the situation and informed each other regarding the steps each were taking in discharge of their respective responsibilities in the area. Amongst other measures the Ministers decided to coordinate their efforts to prevent the smuggling of arms into the area and to take every opportunity of exposing the aims and methods of Communist imperialism which, whilst pretending to encourage Nationalist movements, is in fact seeking only to control and exploit them for expansionist policies.
The three Governments were basically in agreement as to the importance of the political development of the peoples of Africa and the achievement of improved economic and social conditions. The three Ministers recognised the need for developing the existing cooperation amongst the French, British and other African powers, and of the establishment of close cooperation between those countries and the United States to achieve this end.
It was decided that consultation between the Three Powers should be frequent. The Ministers agreed to meet again in the near future possibly in New York before the next meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations.