Commonwealth Talks To Survey Many Topics

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28263, 29 April 1957, Page 9

Commonwealth Talks To Survey Many Topics

(Rec - 7 PJD.) LONDON, April 27. The conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers to open in London on June 26 survey the world situation after the recent British •nd French armed intervention in Egypt, the Hungarian flotation, an< * the Bermuda SI* 5 , between President and the British "hue MHister (Mr Macmil«n). conference, which will be e presided over by Mr MacLilian, is also the first since the Id Coast, as Ghana, became an nation within the Her Prime Minwame Nkrumah, is g!s ted to attend. be "ime Ministers likely to AuS? l^ 6 those o£ Canada. PakiS?’ Jew Zealand, India. de^ia Stan ’w^ eylon and the RhoSouth \/ J . ya ® a land Federation, by itc will be represented rt*' °< Externa! the c Louw, because StrvHnm e - lniste r, Mr Johannes coSl 18 una ble to attend. The jX e , nce - expected to last until agenda* W 1 have no formal Inf nr^ e ? era * Discussion •hat aft e ° , Source s in London say thet , the Pr ime Ministers or «atem»n? reSentatives have made Policies ?? the international ernments• re spective govWorlw and td eir attitude to the begin C^ ne ' tde conference will Dim ®!- neral discussion. donre£rd\t.° bServers in Donfonnai ? ard _? e . conference as a hadiftr>^?f lOr lV luty to recreate the '“osnherl • friendly family at*hich n,<r° t ? e Commonwealth. «fter ffered a severe strain Western ‘"tervention in Egypt. Europe u,in D<i ® Qviet policies in hst of tk Probably head the The n •J°J ,lcs to be discussed will includ.' h », dcl 2 Bation - which tary iu, c da tde Foreign Secre- * Proire« elWyn Eloyd, will give <te?e?onm , P ° rt on the various "'iopments a the Atlantic Pact

and Western European Union communities. Mr Macmillan will give an account of his discussion at Bermuda last March with President Eisenhower. Free Trade Area The progress being made in creating an industrial free trade area in Western Europe and its implications for Commonwealth trade is also expected to be considered. World disarmament, with special reference to the problem of nuclear tests, will also be discussed. Britain and Canada are the two Commonwealth nations represented on the United Nations disarmament sub-committee. The Commonwealth leaders are also likely to consider the latest situation in Indo-China. India, Canada, and Poland are members of the committee supervising the armistices in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. / At least one private meeting will be devoted to the financial and economic problems of the sterling area, the world’s largest single trading unit, of which Britain is the banker and all Commonwealth countries, except Canada, are members Gold and Dollars The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Peter Thorneycroft, is expected to survey the present state of the gold and dollar reserves in the sterling area and the prospects of greater international trade and industrial development within the Commonwealth and Empire. Attention will be given to various aspects of the Colombo Plan for the economic development of South and South-east Asia, to which all the independent Commonwealth States, except South Africa, belong. The general problem of maintaining oil supplies, especially in view of the recent Middle h-ast crisis, is also likely to be examined. The British delegation is expected to inform the conference of the progress being made in the colonial territories towards the achievement of self-government.