The seventh meeting of the Consultative Committee on Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia (Colombo Plan) was held in Singapore from October 17 to 21, 1955, attended by the original members (Australia, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, together with Malaya and British Borneo), and by representatives of more recent member countries, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the United States, Burma, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. The United Kingdom announced at the meeting that it had decided to increase its commitment for technical assistance to Colombo Plan members to £7 million over the seven years beginning in April 1956, and the representative for the United States announced that his government had offered to establish in south or southeast Asia a center for nuclear research and training which would include a research reactor and a small power reactor. A communique issued at the conclusion of the meeting mentioned the increasing degree of self-help in the economic development of the region, and stressed the need to encourage private investment in the area. It was further announced that it had been decided at the meeting to extend the Colombo Plan, previously scheduled to end in 1957, until 1961.

The military staff planners of the eight countries members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) met at Singapore beginning June 11, 1956, to discuss the task of bringing military planning under SEATO to a point where a permanent planning group might be formed. According to press reports, the group was concerned about the feeling that SEATO lacked concrete accomplishments. Recommendations formulated by the planners were to be put before a later meeting of the military advisers to the SEATO Council.1

The fourteenth plenary meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee was held in Paris, France from June 20 through 25, 1955 under the chairmanship of Mr. Edouard J. Senn (France). Delegates from 30 member countries and observers from 18 countries and from 5 international organizations attended the meeting. Portugal announced its accession to the Committee effective July 1, 1955, bringing the total membership to 32 governments. The Committee heard reports from its officers, and a review of the world cotton situation and statements on the cotton situation in the various countries. Fifteen resolutions were adopted at the meeting, of which the first six related to the finances and organization of the Committee. In the other resolutions adopted the Commission inter alia: 1) provided for the continued publication of the Monthly Review and the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, and authorized the Secretariat to publish a base book of cotton statistics as one issue of the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin; 2) stressed the importance of the statistics requested by it from member governments and asked members to review the availability of statistical information in their countries and to take steps to meet any deficiencies; 3) requested that, in addition to statistics already sent it by member governments on production, exports, imports, and prices of rayon and other synthetic fibers, there be added statistics on consumption, and in compiling such statistics, the Committee requested the Secretariat to make use of those already collected by other organizations;4) emphasized the importance of harsh short staple cotton to consuming countries, and requested that the attention of countries exporting this cotton be drawn to the desirability of increasing export availability and production wherever possible; 5) stressed the growing importance of laboratory testing of the fiber properties of commercial cottons, and requested the Secretariat to continue to maintain contacts with other organizations interested in fiber testing, while the standing committee was requested to consider what action, if any, the International Cotton Advisory Committee might appropriately take in this field; 6) requested the standing committee to examine the policies of governments in regard to the consumption of cotton and of competing fibers, and to submit a report on the matter to the fifteenth plenary meeting; and 7) paid tribute to Dr. Arthur W. Palmer, former General Secretary of the Committee and to Dr. Paolo N. Rogers, former vice- chairman of the Committee.

Common Assembly An extraordinary session of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was held in Brussels from March 13 to 16, 1956; the session was opened by Mr. Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, who presented a preliminary report of the Brussels Intergovernmental Committee of which he was chairman on the proposed common market and on Eura-tom. After reviewing the Committee's proposals, Mr. Spaak said that the final problem for the common market was that of institutions; Mr. Spaak told the Assembly that the experts had proposed an executive with a limited field of action but sufficient powers to implement a common market treaty. The executive was to work by majority decisions; it would take decisions on the elimination of subsidies and other supports and apply safeguard provisions during the period of transition.

The seventh annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission was held in Moscow from July 18 to 24, 1955. All of the seventeen member governments were represented except Brazil, and observers were present from Argentina, Italy, the Association of Whaling Companies, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Food and Agriculture Organization. At the end of his three-year term as chairman, tribute was paid to Dr. Remington Kellogg (United States), who was succeeded by Dr. G. J. Leinesch (Netherlands) for the succeeding three years. The Commission elected Mr. R. G. R. Wall (United Kingdom) as vice-chairman to replace Dr. Leinesch. After the Commission had considered the reports of the Technical Committee and the Scientific Committee, it adopted amendments to the schedule, containing the whaling regulations annexed to the 1946 Convention. It was reported that the decisions had not been unanimous and that none of the amendments to the schedule would come into operation until they had been submitted to all member governments, which had the right to object within a period of 90 days. The Commission decided to request the United States to proceed with the amendment of the 1946 Convention by means of a protocol so that helicopters and other aircraft could be brought within the jurisdiction of the Convention.

An extraordinary session of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was held in Strasbourg from November 22 to 25, 1955; Mr. Pella (Italy) was re-elected president. Mr. Etzel, Vice President of the ECSC High Authority, reported that a Ruhr coal cartel was being broken up and three autonomous sales organizations for Ruhr coal were being created in its stead. He declared that under the new arrangement the three sales agencies would maintain independent policies and that die High Authority would supervise their activities to make sure that they did not violate the letter and spirit of Article 65 of the ECSC Treaty, which was ECSC's “anti-trust law”. Mr. Etzel also reported that substantial progress had been made toward breaking up a Belgian coal sales monopoly which had agreed to reorganize itself immediately in order to end infringements upon the Treaty's anti-cartel and fair trade codes. He was less optimistic about progress being made to eliminate a French national coal importing monopoly which prevented French coal consumers from buying coal from ECSC countries through other organizations. In reply to Assembly criticism concerning the High Authority's lack of action concerning the French monopoly, Mr. Etzel stated that a French decision was expected shortly regarding modification of the organization's status and that if the French government refused to conform with the Treaty, the High Authority would seek judicial action against the French government.

The Council of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) held its third session in Geneva from October 17 to 22, 1956; prior to the session, the nine-member Executive Committee held a private session beginning on October 6, at which special reports from the ICEM Director, Harold H. Tittmann were considered, and recommendations on a revised budget for 1955 as well as on proposed budgets for 1956 and 1957 were formulated. The focal point of debate at the Council's session was the need to revise ICEM's system of financing. In an opening address, Director Tittmann told the Council that ICEM-assisted movements from Europe during 1955 would total approximately 118,000, instead of the 142,000 estimated at the beginning of the year. The original budget of $46.5 million had been reduced to $42.7 million, and the deficit of $2.5 million had been greatly reduced; however, a deficit for 1955 of more than $200,000 still remained, and he appealed to member countries who had not yet done so to make a contribution towards covering that deficit. In proposing a target for 1956 of 125,900 migrants, Director Tittmann stressed the fact that ICEM faced a $2.7 million deficit, urged member governments to make contributions sufficient to cover the program, and asked them to place the entire financing system of ICEM on a sounder basis. Director Tittmann further reported that it would be necessary for ICEM to reduce its grants for 1956 to voluntary agencies working in the field of migration; per capita grants would be diminished from $80 in 1955 to $35 for migrants to North America and $75 permigrant for other destinations in 1956, he stated.

The International Sugar Council held a special session in London on July 30 and 31, 1956; it revised its estimate of free market requirements for 1956 to 5,050,000 metric tons, 530,000 metric tons more than a previous provisional estimate. The Council decided to increase export quotas to the full basic export tonnages of 4,440,000 metric tons and also to waive the obligation placed on governments under the Agreement not to ship more than 80 percent of their initial export quotas before August 31. The Council decided to hold its next meeting in Geneva early in October, immediately preceding the second session of the UN Sugar Conference.

At the first meeting of the International Tin Council, held in London in July 1956, it was agreed that September 15, 1956, would be the date from which producing countries would begin to make their contributions to the buffer stock. The producing countries announced their intention to make their initial contributions in cash rather than in stock, because payments were based on the tin floor price, which was below the current market price at the time of the meeting. All the main producing countries had become members by the time of the meeting. The Council decided to open its next meeting on October 15, 1956.