Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Ambassador G. L. Mehta of India, Counselor Bahadur Singh of the Embassy of India, and Donald D. Kennedy

SECURITY SECURITY INFORMATION masby DEPARTMENT OF STATE 5/5 Memorandum of Conversation 894 DATE: 1/13/53 380 SUBJECT: Pakistan and MEDO. 391 412 PARTICIPANTS: The Secretary His Excellency G. L. Mehta, Ambassador of India Mr. Bahadur Singh, Counselor, Embassy of India Mr. Donald D. Kennedy, SOA COPIES TO: s/s IAD NEA - Mr. Daspit G BNA S/MSA Embassy London limbassy Karachi Embassy New Delhi u. s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16-61120-1 The Ambassador of India, His Excellency Mr. Mehta, explained that he wanted to discuss reports about Pakistan being included in MEDO. He had mentioned this matter to Mr. Kennedy in November when stories had appeared in the American press and had been informed then that Pakistan had not been approached but that the geographic location of that country was such that speculation was possible as to a Pakistan contribution to the defense of the area. He had let the matter rest on that basis but now new reports had led him to come to the Secretary. The Ambassador said that responsible people in India quite understood that a strong economy in Pakistan was desirable; there could be no honest objection to economic assistance. But military aid and development of air bases was another matter. This would be seized upon by various elements in India, no doubt in the main irresponsible ones, and would be used to attack the present Indian Government and the US. The work of Ambassador Bowles and of himself and his predecessors in Washington, which had been directed toward cementing Indo-American friendship, would be to a large measure, destroyed. This he believed would be most unfortunate. I thanked the Ambassador for coming in to express his concern over this matter and said that we would of course study closely and in detail the points he had made. There were certain things I could clear up rather quickly, however. Pakistan had not been approached on the question of participation in the defense of the Middle East, and, as a matter of fact, the whole problem of a Middle Fast defense SECURITY INFORMATION DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, By NLT- HL NARS Date/t-30-76