192. Letter From Secretary of State Vance to Minister of Foreign Relations of Panama Gonzalez-Revilla1
The Secretary of Defense and I are pleased to inform you that General Welborn G. Dolvin and Ambassador David H. Popper, our Special Representatives for Panama Canal Treaty Affairs, will be in Panama from September 17 to September 22 to participate, as our personal emissaries, with Dr. Edwin Fabrega in an initial review of the Panama Canal Treaty implementation process.
As you know, in the months which have passed since the Treaties were approved and instruments of ratification exchanged, representatives of our two Governments have met in Panama and begun to plan for the Treaties’ entry into force. Now, our representatives have agreed that the time has come to make a general assessment of those steps which have been taken and those which must be taken in the months ahead to ensure that the Treaty implementation process continues to proceed smoothly. To that end, General Dolvin and Ambassador Popper have come to Panama eager to work with you and your associates in the same spirit of cooperation and goodwill which characterized the Treaty negotiations and President Carter’s visit to Panama in June.2
I am confident that these consultations will further facilitate progress toward our common goal of successfully bringing the Panama Canal Treaties into effect.
Sincerely,
- Source: National Archives, RG 218, Records of David C. Jones, Box 47, 820—Panama 3JC/78—26 Nov 80. No classification marking.↩
- See Documents 183 and 185.↩