307. Editorial Note
In his June 22, 1978, Evening Report to President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance discussed the status of the bilateral consultations on North-South issues to which Carter and Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley had agreed during their June 17 discussion in Panama City (see Document 306). Vance reported that the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Richard Cooper, would travel to Jamaica in July for the proposed consultations. In the meantime, the Department of State had given Jamaican Foreign Minister P.J. Patterson [Page 976] “papers which describe the US position and what we believe to be the Group of 77 position on major international economic issues, and what we believe to be areas of agreement and disagreement. Subjects covered include trade, resource transfers, commodities, monetary issues, debt, technology transfer, illicit payments and multinational corporations. The Jamaicans will comment on these papers before Cooper sees Patterson.” In the margin adjacent to this section of Vance’s report, Carter wrote: “Keep me informed with an outline of the issues.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 19, Evening Reports (State): 6/78)
Eight papers on North-South issues were given to Patterson on June 23; copies of all eight are attached to a June 23 memorandum by Alexander Watson, Director of the Office of Development Finance in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State. (Memorandum from Watson to Cooper and other Department of State principals; National Archives, RG 59, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Records of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Richard N. Cooper, 1977–1980, Lot 81D134, Box 3, MemorandumsRNC—1978)
Carter subsequently sent all eight papers to British Prime Minister James Callaghan, under cover of a July 7 letter in which he noted that he “would very much appreciate” Callaghan’s opinion on them. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 20, United Kingdom: Prime Minister James Callaghan, 6–9/78)