Empire Ministers Start Vital Financial Talks

Northern Advocate, 14 July 1949, Page 4

Empire Ministers Start Vital Financial Talks

LONDON, Wed. (11.30 a.m.).—The Economic Ministers of 10 Commonwealth countries, starting their vital talks in London on the deadlock, today examined long-term and fundamental questions of policy. On Friday the delegations will get down to medium and short-term plans to earn more dollars by increasing sterling-area exports.

It was learned in British' Treasury circles tonight that the Ministers reached broad agreement on the conclusions of the communique issued last Sunday after talks between Sir Stafford Cripps, the. Canadian Finance Minister (Mr Abbot) and the Secretary of the United States Treasury (Mr Snyder). There will be another plenary session tomorrow, which wilL be attended by Mr Hugh Gaitskill," Minister of Fuel and Power, whose presence suggests that questions of coal exports and of the dollar-eaming capacity of oil in the sterling area may be discussed. Mr Attlee, in welcoming delegates at No. 10 Downing Street loday, said that each country represented had its own special financial problems but the broad problem they were to discuss concerned the whole Commonwealth, indeed the whole world.

delegates. After the morning session, which lasted two hours, Mr Nash said: “It was a good start. “We discussed what will be dealt with in subsequent sessions.”

To bring the combined wisdom and experience of all the Commonwealth countries to bear would help greatly towards a solution. Mr Attlee added that he hoped the deliberations would lay the foundations for working out long-term policies. Mr Nash replied on behalf of the