UN Secretariat Item Scan - Barcode - Record Title Page 66 Date 12/06/2006 Time 2:11:32PM

S-0882-0002-29-00001

Expanded Number S-0882-0002-29-00001

items-in-

Date Created 16/09/1969

Record Type Archival Item

Container S-0882-0002: Correspondence Files of the Secretary-General: U Thant: with Heads of State, Governments, Permanent Representatives and Observers to the

Print Name of Person Submit Image Signature of Person Submit 4r f-- CVK/CC

cc: Perm. Mission Mr, JJarasiBihan Mr. P-M. Henry Mr. Lemleus

2k Septesibsr

'far1 ys«r wry SdM letter 0£ 3.6 Se$?t@jB&ej*. I? too 5 v&ls!$& tfee opportsmtty to aeet you 5arlBg tfee of the -feaSs of State aatl So^s«5iffisst of of Afrieaaa ffnitgr ia ^-Mi0 ^balja. I as is |srlBei|>i€ yoisr iiwltstion to sse to visit Soa^lia* I note that is yeaop vlev it wouldto ® psrfeieuler^f appraprta-l f ? it I ess fe® •wltls joa, 0n tfee ^®stb Aseaivsrm^ of tfee of the Sos^Ll BepabMc QB 1 July l^TCg, JC aliall f relationship 1i@%s?e®B tfee Netted Satis^ss

fes tfee €eslrabtis:%' of s later Ctsaamission fbf tte Sfeeljelit aaci ^fete livers witfe Joist saES>©r@ftip? I m e«^®altiiag sgy conosaraed ©a the sufejeet, I Iseilev© tbat TS@ shoulS be help IB ^nyeldlDg ©a aaiseat!^1 q«sBlified parsoa ss Sia glad to IEEJOW ttet ycsra limre r^ce^tly rsatsed this tfce Sspe2*or of IfeMopta «efi that be was ^aea'ptire to tfee

Sia Saji Ibz^Mss Egal af tfes '• a •

t& (Seeing yaw IK ley for-k visit toS t«> the oppoxt^nlty of «aceliaagi»g view wttli :fo« oaee SOMALI REPUBLIC _ 0___ PRIME MSNISTER 16th September, 1969.

Dear Mr. U Thant, It \vas indeed a great pleasure for me to have had the opportunity of meeting you again during the recent Organisation of African Unity Summit Conference in Addis Ababa which you were kind enough to attend. I am writing to confirm the invitation I extended to Your Excellency during our brief meeting for the Tenth anniversary of the Independence of the Somali Republic which will be celebrated on 1st July 1970. I trust that Your Excellency will be in a position to accept the invitation. As Your Excellency are aware, the Somali Republic enjoys a unique relationship with the United Nations Organisation in that the larger part of the Republic was under U.N. Trusteeship for the whole decade preceding our independence. It will, therefore, be a great honour for us and a fitting tribute to the high-minded mission of the United Nations Organisation that its Secretary-General should be present at the ceremonies commemorating the successful completion of a decade of independence of a former U.N. Trust Territory. Your Excellency also will recall that during our meeting I mentioned to you that I had addressed a Note Verbale to the Ethiopian Government on the desirability of having established a Water Commission for the Shebelli and Juba Rivers with joint Somali/Ethiopian membership but chaired by an eminently qualified person to be appointed by you. (I enclose a copy of the Note for your information), I am gratified to inform Your Excellency that I have since had the occasion to raise the matter with His Imperial Majesty personally and that I have found him favourably

H.E. Mr. U Thant, ' • Secretary-General, - United Nations Organisation, New York - U.S.A.

F'.: REPUBLIC

PRIME MINISTER -2-

disposed to our proposition. I am now awaiting an official reply to ray Note formally accepting the establishment of the Commission under the auspices oft.the United Nations. I shall let you know of further developments through our Permanent Representative. In closing this letter I would like to inform Your Excellency that I shall be coming to New York shortly to address the General Assembly on the problem of the diminishing authority of the United Nations Organisation - a subject about which I feel very strongly. I am looking forward to the opportunity which my visit will, I hope, afford me to meet and exchange views once again with Your Excellency.

Accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

U, (Mohamed Ibrahim Egal) PRIME MINISTER /COPY/

SOMALI REPUBLIC MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

NOTE VERBALS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Somali Republic presents its compliments to the 1 ?• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Imperial Ethiopian Government and has the honour to refer to previous discussions and exchanges between our Governments on the question of the Wabe Sheblli River. As is well known, our two Governments have been studying the important resources of this river independently for some time. On our part we have conducted the following studies: (1) Inter-River Economic Exploration, ICA, Washington, D.C. - 1961. (2) The Juba River Scheme, Selchozpromexport, Moscow - 1965« (3) Surface and Groundwater Resources of the Shebelli Valley, Faillage, Mogadishu - 1964. (4) F.A.O. Agriculture and Water Survey: Somalia - 1967 - 6 volumes. (5) Region Development Planj Italconsult — May, 1968. (6) F.A.O. Water Control and Management of Shebelli River (interim report) - 1969* Our most recent study has been conducted for the t Government, under the United Nations Development Programme, by the Food and Agriculture Organization as the Executing -2-

Agency. This was a three-year study, approved by the Governing Council of the UNDP in June 1966, which became operational in September 1967. The major purpose of this study was to attempt to define two irrigation projects for possible development. This Special Fund Survey was a follow-up of the earlier Special Fund Agriculture and Water Survey, also conducted by FAO. "The field work for the current Special Fund project (Water Control and Management of the Shebelli River) has now been completed and the Government has recently received a limited number of copies of an interim report on this project, with the promise that the funal report will be available by the

end of 1969. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pleasure in transmitting to the Imperial Ethiopian Government one copy of this interim reports It is transmitted to the Ethiopian Government as an expression of the desire on the part of the Somali Government to share information on the resources of the rivers, which run through both our territories. The Somali Government would hope that action in providing advance information on this study would clearly indicate this Government' desire for more formal arrangements for the sharing of this essential information, so important to both our countries., This Ministry would like to propose to the Imperial Ethiopian Government that both the Governments should enter an arrangement for the complete sharing of information on the rivers which traverse our territories. This Ministry is sure that the Imperial Ethiopian Government will agree that such a scaring of essential and vital information would be of vast benefit to their two great countries and to the continuing healthy relationships to which both countries aspire. May the Somali Government suggest to the Imperial Ethiopian Government that the two countries jointly request the Secretary- General of the United Nations to establish a Water Commission with membership from the two countries, but whose chairman would be appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Rations from amongst the body of men in the world with eminent qualifications in this field. The Somali Government would propose that the termr of reference of this Commission should simply be to establish the mechanism and procedures by which the two countries fully share the information on their joint water resources. The Somali Government would be most grateful if the Imperial Ethiopian Government could give early and sympathetic consideration to this proposal. It leaves the proposal in general terms with the confidence that the technical advisers of the two Governments could work out agreeable terms of reference. It is sure that this suggestion will meet with a receptive ear and that the response from the Imperial Ethiopian Government wilT. permit both the countries to enhance the lives of their people and assure a future of peace between their two countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Somali Republic avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Imperial Ethiopian Government the assurances of its consideration. Mogadishu; • 30th July, 1969.

MINISTRY OP FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE IMPERIAL ETHIOPIAN GOVERTO1ENTr ASBIS ABABA.