Office of the Historian

35. Telegram 18879 From the Department of State to All African Diplomatic Posts1 2

Washington, January 24, 1976, 2321Z

Subject:

  • Secretary’s Meeting With African Ambassadors
1.
Summary. On January 15, the Secretary met for one hour with the 39 African Ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives in Washington of the member states of the OAU. The meeting was held in the Department’s 8th floor Adams Room, his third meeting with the African group. After brief introductory remarks the Secretary responded to questions on Angola, long-term US-African relationships, the new Office of Multilateral Affairs, and Rhodesia. The Secretary said he plans to make a trip to Africa in spring. Pending confirmation of the Secretary’s plans, posts should keep responses to queries on the trip in low key. End summary.
2.
Angola. The Secretary restated the US position on Angola, calling for an African solution that removes all outside influence from Angola. He repeated US opposition to the presence of South African, Soviet and Cuban forces there. The Secretary said that in the US view there should be a cease-fire, negotiations among the parties, and an end to all foreign intervention. The US would welcome an OAU conciliation mission or any other African effort to bring an end to the fighting. He said there is no United States national interest in Angola as such and the US is not against the MPLA as long as the MPLA is an African organization. The Secretary commented that the Angola situation could be settled within a month.
3.
US African relations. The Secretary stressed that Angola was a short-term problem. He pointed out that the US is interested in developing a closer relationship with Africa. Important factors in our long-term relationships include African independence, economic development, social [Page 2] justice and racial equality. The Secretary said that the US was prepared to cooperate in African economic development, and to support efforts for social justice and racial equality.
4.
Office of Multilateral Affairs. In response to questions, the Secretary described the new Office of Multilateral Affairs as an effort to cope with problems which are encountered largely in international organizations. He noted that the State Department was organized to deal with individual countries on bilateral problems. Many problems were now handled in multilateral organizations; most of the US dealings with some countries were in multilateral settings. To deal with this development, the Office of Multilateral Affairs was established. The Secretary said that the Office basically has nothing to do with the level of aid being given a particular country (as some newspaper stories had alleged). AID does have a relationship to the general state of US relations with a country and a total pattern of hostility would, over time, affect the US judgment on the allocation of limited resources. He said the US would not attempt to buy UN votes by promising or threatening aid.
5.
Rhodesia. The Secretary said we have attempted to move Rhodesia towards majority rule, using US moral influence with all of the parties convened within Rhodesia and with South Africa. In reply to a question on Rhodesian chrome the Secretary reaffirmed the administration’s support for repeal of the Byrd Amendment, and promised to fight for repeal in the future.
6.
Secretary’s trip to Africa. The Secretary stated his intention to visit Africa in the spring of 1976, to visit several countries in various parts of the continent and to meet with African leaders whom he did not yet know. Final plans had not yet been made, he said, but he presently planned to travel to Africa for about 10 days sometime between March 15 and April 15.
7.
Guidance. Until plans are firm, posts are requested to respond to queries concerning the Secretary’s trip in low key. You may say that he has expressed his intention to make the visit, and looks forward to the trip. No decisions have as yet been taken, however, as to dates, schedule or itinerary.
Ingersoll
  1. Source: Department of State, Nairobi Post Files: Lot 79 F 186, Box 5, POL-Africa General, 1976. Confidential. Repeated to London, Paris, Cairo, Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Rabat, and USUN. Drafted by Dennis W. Keough (AF/I), cleared by Schaufele, approved by Kissinger.↩
  2. The Department summarized Kissinger’s remarks to African ambassadors at a January 15 meeting at which U.S.-African relations were discussed.↩