OUTWARD TELEGRAM
Cypher/OTP Confidential
WORLD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION
FROM FOREIGN OFFICE TO NEW YORK
(To United Kingdom Delegation to the United Nations)
No. 1.
January 1st, 1949.
D. 1.20.p.m. January 1st, 1949.
Repeated to Singapore No. 63 (Immediate),
Bangkok (Important)
IMMEDIATE CONFIDENTIAL
FERTILE
Addressed to United Kingdom Delegation New York telegram No. 1 of 1/1/49, repeated for information to Singapore and Bangkok.
you.
Singapore telegram No. 1290 which is being repeated to
E.C. A. F. E. Headquarters.
We appreciate that Singapore have done all they can to induce E.C.A.F. E. Secretariat to settle in Singapore and there appears to be little further we can do at this stage to help. It occurs to us however that David Owen might be sufficiently interested to intervene and. tip the balance if he himself is in favour of Singapore.
2. We are not sure whether he favours Singapore or whether he would be prepared to intervene and we are a little apprehensive of going behind Lokanathan's back. If however you feel Owen has sufficiently strong views to intervene we should like you to inform him that despite the obvious advantages of Singapore and the efforts made by Singapore to provide facilities and every assistance, and the preference apparently shown by most of the Asian members of the Secretariat (includ- ing Lokanathan we think) to remaining there, other members seem to be influencing the decision against Singapore mainly because they appear to hope for more attractive amenities and cost of living elsewhere. Would he see fit to intervene?
3. For Singapore's information we sympathise with their' apprehensions about the behaviour of certain members of the Secretariat but we would hope that once the decision had been taken to settle in Singapore they could be made to realise their position,
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