476. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, January 19, 19561
SUBJECT
- Farewell Call of Ambassador Chiriboga
PARTICIPANTS
- Ambassador Jose R. Chiriboga of Ecuador
- The Secretary, Mr. Dulles
- Deputy Assistant Secretary Cecil B. Lyon, ARA
The Ambassador called this afternoon at his request to say goodby to the Secretary and to express appreciation for all the attentions which he had received while in Washington.
The Secretary said that he had heard rumors that the Ambassador was returning to his country to be a candidate for the Presidency. Mr. Dulles said that every citizen of the United States aspired to the presidency and he assumed the same was true in Ecuador.
The Secretary also expressed his personal regret at the departure of the Ambassador. He noted that the Ambassador had been here during all the time he had been Secretary of State and that he had always felt he could rely on the Ambassador and Ecuador in matters of common Hemispheric interest. Those were the questions with which the Secretary had dealt in particular with the Ambassador.
The Ambassador said that he regretted leaving Washington, that he had had four very pleasant years here, but that the call of the people to duty was so strong he could not resist it, though it would be pleasanter and easier to continue in his present position.
The Ambassador then said that he must express to the Secretary his sincere appreciation for all the courtesies he had received while in this country. He mentioned the fact that Ecuador had received more help from the United States in the way of loans, technical assistance, etc. during his incumbency here than in all the years which preceded his coming. For this, his country was deeply grateful.
The Ambassador then said that he must ask the Secretary to do everything possible to assist Ecuador and Peru to find a settlement of their long-standing border dispute.
The Secretary said without knowing where the rights of the matter lay, he, too, felt that some solution must be found to this problem and that we, for our part, would do everything we could to assist the Guarantors to find a solution.
[Page 963]The Secretary said that as the Ambassador had raised the question of the border dispute, he would like to raise the question of the 200 mile zone. This is a matter which the Secretary said must be settled. We could find a solution; in fact, he himself had worked on a solution for the settlement of the fishing problem with Canada and Japan, a settlement which covered all of the Pacific ocean and the fishing rights of these three countries. However, one could not extend the territorial waters 200 miles.
The Ambassador said that this was a point in which he was not in agreement with his Government, and that he would do what he could to help find a solution. He remarked that there was not a great deal of time since in about two months there would be a meeting in the Dominican Republic of all the 21 American Republics on this matter.2 He assured the Secretary that he could count on his assistance.
The Secretary then turned to the question of the extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreement,3 and said that he hoped there would be some solution to the problem of Panama hats. The Secretary remarked that no one seemed to wear hats any more. He noticed this when he travelled, particularly in England. The Ambassador expressed appreciation for the extension of the Agreement and said that Ecuador would do everything possible to find a solution to the problem, both to the diversification of industry and also the question of bleaching of Panama hats.
The Ambassador said that the relations between Ecuador and the United States, in his opinion, had never been stronger and that the Secretary could count on his support as a citizen, as a candidate for the presidency, and as the President, in all matters which affected the well-being of our two countries.
The Secretary wished the Ambassador good luck before saying goodby to him.
- Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Official Use Only. Drafted by Lyon.↩
- The Inter-American Specialized Conference of Conservation of Natural Resources: Continental Shelf and Marine Waters met at Ciudad Trujillo March 15–28, 1956.↩
- See the editorial note, infra.↩