326. Memorandum of Conversation0
SUBJECT
- Economic Assistance
PARTICIPANTS
- The Acting Secretary (Mr. Dillon)
- Telli Diallo, Guinean Ambassador
- Lamine Sylla, Secretary of Embassy
- Mr. James K. Penfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary, AF
- Thomas A. Cassilly, AFS
Ambassador Diallo informed the Acting Secretary that Guinea appealed to all nations for aid. There is no need to waste time surveying the country’s requirements, he said, since Guinea needs everything. The Ambassador observed that he was aware of procedural difficulties which had hampered U.S. action in the past but strongly urged reconsideration of Guinea’s needs. His country considers American aid essential because if it commits itself too exclusively to one side, Guinea will be unable to maintain its position of true neutrality.
Mr. Diallo pointed out that he and other Guinean ambassadors now have the equivalent of cabinet rank and have full power to enter into negotiations. “I come here with the best will to succeed in these negotiations but will remain here only so long as I feel there is some chance of success. The moment I am convinced that there is no hope for these negotiations, I shall leave”.
Above all Guinea needs trained personnel, the Ambassador stated. Although he had met dozens of students from English-speaking Africa here, Mr. Diallo expressed regret that there were only two Guineans in the U.S. and he had not met any students from Senegal, the Ivory Cost or other French-speaking areas. Mr. Dillon referred to the language barrier and stated that after these areas become independent there would undoubtedly be a greater exchange of students.
High on the list of Guinean needs were agricultural products (both loans and purchase) and loans for development, according to Mr. Diallo. Guinea is quite satisfied with the functioning of Fria and remembers that this enterprise showed confidence in the new government just after independence when others did not. To attract further U.S. investments Guinea had passed an investment guarantee law five days before. The country also needs payment facilities to obtain dollars; Guinea wanted American products (and had bought automobiles, [Page 710] motor cycles, etc., last year) but had been prevented from making further purchases because of the lack of dollars. Above all, Guinea needs the Konkoure Dam and hopes the U.S. can be persuaded to help build it. This project is so essential, the Ambassador maintained, that we cannot wait for any one country but will appeal to everyone to help us with this dam. We are prepared to do everything to cooperate with the U.S. and realize this project must be considered in conjunction with similar projects in Ghana and the Belgian Congo. Guinea believes the Konkoure project is by far the most feasible economically because of the proximity of the bauxite deposits.
Mr. Dillon asked whether Guinea had considered joining the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The Ambassador reported that Guinea had welcomed an official of the IMF who had made suggestions, but with the advent of the new currency reforms the situation had changed. Now his Government wanted to consolidate the new currency before considering whether it would join the Bank or the Fund; possibly in a year it would be in a position to join.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador continued, Guinea would like U.S. banks to establish themselves in the country. Also it hoped that the Pan American Airways would agree to stop over in Conakry on their Dakar-Roberts Field flights.
The Acting Secretary thanked Mr. Diallo for this exposition. As a result of Sekou Toure’s letter to the President,1 Mr. Dillon has been asked by the President to discuss mutual problems with the Guinean Ambassador. The U.S. Government was studying the possibility of modifying the usual procedures so that it would conform with the special situation in Africa.
We have confidence in the U.S., the Ambassador affirmed, but something must be done soon to justify such confidence. Since he planned to attend the Conference of Independent African States in Addis Ababa on June 15, he expected to discuss the entire question of U.S. aid with President Toure who will also be in Ethiopia. By that time he hoped he would have some definite information to give his President.
The Acting Secretary assured Mr. Diallo that we would do our best to find a satisfactory solution.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 770B.5–MSP/5–1860. Confidential. Drafted by Cassilly.↩
- The letter, dated April 20, was delivered to the Department by Ambassador Diallo on April 29. It enclosed descriptions of Guinea’s recently-adopted currency reform and Three-Year Plan, and stated that Touré would welcome “all suggestions and proposals you deem appropriate to give us on this matter.” (Ibid., Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204) Eisenhower’s reply, dated May 14 and transmitted in telegram 565 to Conakry of that date, stated that U.S. experts would be discussing the points raised in Touré’s letter with Ambassador Diallo and assured Touré of “the great sympathy with which we regard your efforts to improve conditions in Guinea.” (Ibid., Central Files, 870B.13/5-1460)↩