124. Telegram From the Embassy in Egypt to the Department of State 1
1668. This is message number 4 referred to in Embassy telegram 1664.2 Begin verbatim text.
Following is draft of proposed letter to the Egyptian Government.
Begins.
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have followed with special interest the High Dam (Saad El Aali) project and have studied the surveys and reports respecting this project made by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter called the Bank). The Government of the United Kingdom agree with the Government of Egypt that the project holds great promise for the future of the Egyptian people and desire to cooperate in bringing it into realization.
The Government of the United Kingdom will accordingly, subject to the approval of Parliament, provide 5.5 million pounds as an initial grant towards the financing of the foreign exchange costs of the project on the conditions hereinafter set forth.
These proposals by the Government of the United Kingdom are made on the understanding that—
- (a)
- The United States Government will provide $54.6 million as an initial grant towards the foreign exchange costs of the project.
- (b)
- The Government of Egypt will join the Government of the United Kingdom and the United States Government in requesting the Bank to act as the channel through which funds provided by the [Page 233] latter two governments are to be disbursed. The grant shall be subject to the terms of the letters exchanged between the President of the International Bank and the Egyptian Government signed this day and shall be disbursed in accordance with the terms of an agreement to be entered into between the Egyptian Government and the Bank satisfactory to the two governments.
- (c)
- The Bank will lend the Government of Egypt an amount in various currencies equivalent to $200 million when required for the financing of the High Dam project subject to the terms of the exchange of letters between the President of the International Bank and the Egyptian Government.
- (d)
- There shall be a prior satisfactory solution of the legal problems affecting the project and the Government of the United Kingdom will lend their good offices in helping to solve these problems.
- (e)
- They will be subject to review by the Government of the United Kingdom in the event of circumstances arising which represent a case of force majeure. End verbatim text.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 874.2614/2–2456. Confidential; Priority. Received at 11:20 a.m.↩
- See footnote 2, Document 121.↩