Office of the Historian
  1. Home
  2. Historical Documents
  3. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Africa, Volume XVIII
  4. Document 115

115. Memorandum of a Conversation, Addis Ababa, March 12, 19571

Addis Ababa , March 12, 1957

SUBJECT

  • Visit of Vice President Richard M. Nixon

PARTICIPANTS

  • Ethiopian:
    • His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
    • H.E. Tsahafe Tezaz Tafarra Worq Kidane Wolde, Private Secretary to HIM
  • American:
    • The Honorable Richard M. Nixon, Vice President of the United States.
    • Mr. Joseph Palmer 2nd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs
    • Mr. Joseph Simonson, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia

After welcoming the Vice President and expressing pleasure that he had found it possible to visit Ethiopia at this time, the Emperor said that he would like to talk in a spirit of great frankness about the current state of U.S.-Ethiopian relations. He then spoke along the lines of the attached summary of remarks,2 which was subsequently provided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In replying to His Imperial Majesty, the Vice President emphasized the importance which the United States attaches to the maintenance of close relations with Ethiopia. He said that we understand and appreciate the support which Ethiopia has given to the cause of freedom. In the light of these factors, we are most anxious to remove any causes of misunderstanding which exist between the two countries.

Replying to the specific points raised by His Imperial Majesty, the Vice President spoke as follows:

1.
He would report to the President the Emperor’s feeling of disappointment on the question of military aid. He added that he had recently received information which indicated that the rate of deliveries of MDAP equipment had been slow and that he would look into this situation upon his return. He pointed out, in connection with Ethiopian concern about the continuity of programs, that the Executive Branch of the Government is dependent upon annual appropriations from the Congress, which makes difficult any long-range commitment.
2.
With respect to the Emperor’s criticism that the rate of interest by the Export-Import Bank was no more favorable than that available commercially, the Vice President pointed out that unfortunately [Page 345] we are now in a period of rising interest rates. Moreover, Exim bank interest rates are fixed by law.
3.
With respect to the development of the Nile, the Vice President reiterated the views he had expressed in his press conference at Entebbe to the effect that in his view Nile development should be approached cooperatively by the various riparian states, i.e., Egypt, the Sudan, Ethiopia, and the U.K. on behalf of Uganda.

In summing up, the Vice President said that he would draw to the attention of the President and the Secretary of State His Imperial Majesty’s concern on the various matters discussed and would interest himself personally in facilitating a solution to them.

The Vice President then asked the Emperor what he conceived to be Ethiopia’s most important developmental needs. The Emperor spoke of the problem caused by unemployment within the country. He said that he would like to utilize United States economic aid to help correct this situation. The highest priority items were communications (particularly roads), public health and education. He placed particular emphasis on roads, pointing out that these were necessary to open up the more inaccessible parts of the country for development.

The conversation then returned to the question of Nile development. The Emperor reviewed the history of Ethiopia’s relationship with Great Britain on this subject, including the agreement which was negotiated between the U.K. and Ethiopia about fifty years ago whereby Ethiopia undertook in return for a promised payment of 10,000 pounds a year not to divert the waters of the Blue Nile. This payment has never been made by the British and consequently the agreement is no longer in effect. Ethiopia feels that in its own interests it should start to develop the Lake Tana and Blue Nile areas. He hoped the United States would consider this matter carefully.

In concluding, the Emperor reiterated the spirit of frankness and friendliness which had motivated him in raising these matters. The Vice President said that he greatly appreciated this frankness and that he would not fail to follow these matters up when he returned to Washington.

  1. Source: Department of State, S/P–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, NSC 5614, 5614/1). Secret. No drafting information is given on the source text. Attached as Tab D, No. 2 to Document 19.↩
  2. Supra .↩