U.S. aid near limit, Third World told

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34146, 6 May 1976, Page 17

U.S. aid near limit, Third World told

'N.Z.P.A .•Reut-cr—~Copyright) NAIROBI, May 5. The fourth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has opened in Nairobi amid gentle but repeated warnings from the United States that it is going as far as it possibly can to meet the demands of developing nations- , The United States Secretary’ of State (Dr Henry Kissinger) has said that the proposals he will present to die 2000 delegates from 153 countries in a speech tomorrow will represent the maximum that can be expected from the United States.

“We have gone to the limits of our domestic possibilities,” he told delegates from key developing and industrial nations.

The United States is expected to oppose any demands for an indexing of raw material prices — so that they increase in accordance with inflation — and any other proposal that interferes with the fundamental principle of free markets. Senior United States officials said Dr Kissinger’s words about domestic possibilities were intended to indicate to other nations at the conference that they could not hope to press the United States into major concessions, although it wasl sympathetic to their needs. Poor’s choice Dr Kissinger warned the Third World against using ■bloc economic power to

achieve progress and pros-; perity. “We will do our best toj listen to your concerns,” he said. “But the Third World has to choose between slogans and solutions, between rhetoric and reality.”

The United Nations secre-tary-general (Dr Kurt Waldheim) is expected to stress to the conference the vital importance for the wellbeing of millions of people of the U.N.C.T.A.D. negotiations.

Most of today’s session will be occupied with procedural matters. The conference’s real work will begin tomorrow with keynote speeches by President Marcos of the Philippines, on behalf of the developing countries, and Dr Kissinger. Dr Kissinger is expected to cover every aspect of re-

lations between rich andi poor countries, from com-' modifies to debt problems and the transfer of resources! and technology. U.S. reluctant Only one specific point has been made known in advance — an American plan for an international resources bank that would channel private capital into natural resources projects in developing countries. Dr Kissinger said yesterday that the industrial nations must recognise the legitimate claims of the developing nations, whose voices had not always been heard. Third World delegates said they had the impression he was setting definite limits on i the extent to which his Government would meet radical Third World demands. There is no doubt about American reluctance to consider a common fund to finance buffer stocks of key commodities, or any general moratorium on Third World debt.