Statement by the President on U.S. Participation in the Founding of the Asian Development Bank.

A DELEGATION headed by Eugene R. Black, my adviser on economic and social development in Asia, leaves Washington tomorrow for Manila, where it will participate in the founding of the Asian Development Bank.

I regard the organization of this new institution as one of the most hopeful events of our times. The Asian Development Bank has been put together by Asians. They are contributing the greater part of its capital. They will direct its lending for development in Asia.

But, most of all, it is an important and hopeful event, because the Asian Development Bank will bring so many of Asia's diverse peoples together in a cooperative effort for peaceful development and human betterment in Asia.

The basic conflict of our times is not over economic ideas or between economic systems. We do not believe any one people stands as the sole possessor of all the truth. I am confident that in its work, as in its charter, the Asian Development Bank can make a major contribution toward creating an environment in which men and nations exercise the right to develop their own systems and their own societies without fear of interference from others.

I intend to request the approval of Congress early in the next session for a United States subscription of at least $200 million to the Bank's regular capital. This would be paid in to the amount of $100 million over 4 years.

Mr. Black, and his alternate, Under Secretary of the Treasury Joseph W. Barr, have closely followed and encouraged the organization of this great venture in collaboration for peaceful construction in Asia. The Asian Development Bank has had our enthusiastic support.

I am very glad that the United States delegates from the executive branch of the Government will be accompanied to the Manila conference by 16 Members of the Congress and that others will join them in Manila. I take particular pleasure in the fact that many of these are new, young Members of Congress, who reflect the deep interest of the American people in this vital part of the world.

It is gratifying to note that the most industrialized Asian nation, Japan, is prepared to subscribe as large a sum as our own-$200 million--to the Bank's capital. Australia and New Zealand will provide approximately $100 million of the Bank capital, while less developed Asian countries will put up $300 million out of their resources.

Apart from the $200 million pledge of the United States, six nations outside the Asian region have signified their intention to subscribe to the Bank's capital. They are Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Others are considering participation in the Asian Development Bank. Even so, I should note that the problems of Asia are of an order and a diversity requiring the widest possible participation in their solution by the economically developed nations. Consequently, it is my hope that the industrialized nations of both Western and Eastern Europe that have not yet signified their support of the Asian Development Bank will do so, and that other nations will carefully assess the adequacy of their capital subscriptions.

One such effort is the establishment of special funds to be administered by the Asian Bank, and to augment its resources. Last summer, I authorized Mr. Black to pledge $100 million to funds for southeast Asia, provided other developed countries also contributed to such special funds.

Our pledge to the Asian Development Bank will help fulfill the promise I made earlier this year of American participation in cooperative efforts for economic development in Asia. We stand ready to join in other cooperative development efforts to heal the sick and wounded, feed the hungry, and spread the blessings of education and training in that part of the world.

Creation of the Asian Development Bank will mean that the Asian region will have its own sound financial institution, closely attuned to meeting the particular development needs of the area. The Bank will be an important supplement to existing international financial agencies. Of equal importance, the Bank can initiate and lead new moves toward regional cooperation, and provide the institutional framework through which substantial volumes of financial and technical assistance resources can be administered.