Statement by the President on the Observance of International Cooperation Year.

ON October 2, I proclaimed this 20th anniversary year of the birth of the United Nations as International Cooperation Year in the United States.

I am highly pleased by the extent of voluntary support being given to this observance by citizens throughout the country. Mr. Benjamin's progress report this morning was inspiring. I believe Americans today fully recognize that international cooperation is the one sure way toward peace. The depth of such citizen support is a source of strength for all of this Nation's policies and purposes.

Over the two decades since San Francisco, we have taken long strides toward organizing common enterprises across national frontiers--at both governmental and private levels. I believe it is time now to take stock of what we have accomplished and what we have learned--and look ahead to identify the purposes and aims of our continuing efforts in this century.

This is not a job for Government to do alone. Citizen participation and understanding is the sure base on which we build.

I am hopeful that the White House Conference on International Cooperation which I have called for November 29 to December 1, can be a landmark session. I hope the conference and the preliminary discussions leading toward it can be a source of new and thoughtful evaluations of what we can do in every major field of international cooperation.