275. Editorial Note

On April 2 in Washington, representatives of the Governments of the United States and Saudi Arabia completed an exchange of notes relating to the extension of American rights at the Dhahran Airfield and to economic and military assistance for Saudi Arabia. Two notes were involved in the exchange. The first, an unclassified note, confirmed the intention of the United States to provide military equipment on a reimbursable basis and to provide training programs for Saudi Arabian Army, Air Force and Naval personnel. The note also affirmed the United States commitment to undertake additional construction at the Dhahran Airfield to improve civil aviation facilities and to assist in agreed economic projects such as the Dammam port. (For text of the unclassified note, April 2, see 8 UST 402–408.)

The second note, referred to as the classified supplementary note or secret annex, specified in greater detail the nature of the military and economic assistance to be provided by the United States. (The English and Arabic texts of the secret annex are in Department of State, NEA/ARP Files: Lot 70 D 148, Defense-Bases—Saudi Arabia, Washington, April 2, 1957, Terminated.)

The texts of the notes were largely agreed upon in a series of meetings between representatives of the Departments of State and Defense and Saudi officials between February 11 and 21. Records of conversations on February 11 and 21 in which Murphy participated are ibid., Central Files, 786A.5–MSP/2–1157 and 786A.5–MSP/ 2–2157, respectively; records of other meetings held February 11–15 and 17–20 are ibid., 711.56386A. Further discussions were held by Murphy and the Saudi Ambassador in three meetings between [Page 489] March 5 and 15; records of those meetings are ibid., 786A.5–MSP/ 3–557, 786A.5–MSP/3–1157, and 786A.5–MSP/3–1557.