Exchange of Letters Between the President and the Prime Minister of Thailand on United States Aid and Technical Assistance
[ Released February 25, 1957. Dated February 7, 1957 ]
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
It was most gratifying to read your letter of January nineteenth reaffirming that United States economic aid and technical assistance programs have helped to strengthen Thailand's economy and have facilitated the training of technicians needed in meeting your country's economic objectives.
I was also glad to hear of the arrival in the United States of the 1000th participant from Thailand in the technical training program conducted by our International Cooperation Administration.
The American people are happy to share their technical skills with the friendly people of Thailand. It gives us great satisfaction to know that a sizeable body of technicians who have benefited from training in the United States are now available to Thailand and are serving to advance the prosperity of their country and the well-being and happiness of their countrymen. We Americans in turn have learned much and profited very considerably from working with the people of Thailand, both in the United States and in your country. We have come to know better the deep and ancient culture of Thailand and to understand your national aspirations. I have every hope that the friendly cooperation which exists between our two countries and brings so many mutual benefits will be long continued.
Sincerely,
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Note: The Prime Minister's letter of January 19, 1957, follows:
Your Excellency:
On the occasion of the arrival of the 1000th participant from Thailand in the United States under the ICA program, I have the greatest honor and pleasure to convey to Your Excellency the warmest feeling of thanks and gratitude of myself, my colleagues and the Thai people for the most valuable aid that the American nation has given to Thailand, both in the military and the economic fields; confining myself only to the economic and technical assistance, it is hardly necessary for me to emphasize the importance of the various projects jointly agreed upon and executed so far in the fields of agriculture, communications, education, public health, etc. They all help greatly to strengthen the economy of this land.
But, whatever impact such projects may have on our economic position, the technical assistance program consisting mainly of the sending of Thai officials for further academic and notably practical training in the United States, has probably the most far reaching and permanent effects. Without such cooperation from Your Excellency's Government and the people of the United States, it would doubtless take my government much longer time to achieve this success and no similar facilities for placements in the different educational institutions would have been available. It would be very kind of Your Excellency to convey my feelings and thoughts in this connection to all Your Excellency's colleagues who are concerned with the program. May I also avail myself of this opportunity to wish Your Excellency good health and happiness and continued prosperity for the United States.
Yours sincerely,
FIELD MARSHAL P. PIBULSONGGRAM
President of the Council of Ministers
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Exchange of Letters Between the President and the Prime Minister of Thailand on United States Aid and Technical Assistance Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/234106