TALKS IN LONDON

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29867, 6 July 1962, Page 11

TALKS IN LONDON

Thant And Macmillan (N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright > LONDON. July 4. The Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) will have talks at Admiralty House tonight with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant. Their meeting, followed by a dinner forty, will come at the end of the first full day of U Thant’s official visit to London as the guest of the British Government U Thant arrived by air from New York last night and will leave on Saturday for Geneva.

No formal agenda has been drawn up for the SecretaryGeneral’s talks with Mr Macmillan and the Foreign Secretary (Lord Home), but it is taken for granted that they will cover those subjects of concern and interest to the British Government which fall within U Thant's sphere of influence.

One subject likely to enter into the discussions is the future trend of United Nations affair as a result of the growing strength of the Afro-Asian bloc. The Government will no doubt want to impress upon U Thant the opposition it has already expressed in New York to the attitude of the Afro-Asian representatives in calling for "a more liberal constitution" for Southern Rhodesia. Another question likely during the talks is the possibility of the Soviet Union launching another campaign such as that they initiated in an attempt to achieve "troika” control of the secretariat.

U Thant's term of office will expire next year and the question of his re-election will arise at the assembly this autumn. Britain would like to see him remain in office.