Joint Statement following Discussionsÿ With the King of Thailand.

THE PRESIDENT of the United States and His Majesty the King of Thailand have held a friendly and useful exchange of views on matters of mutual interest.

Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand are visiting the United States upon the invitation of the President. At the conclusion of their stay in Washington on July 2, during which His Majesty the King addressed a joint session of the United States Congress, Their Majesties will begin a twelve-day coast-to-coast tour of the United States, during which they will meet with various civic, cultural and business leaders. The President recalled the fact that the King was born in the United States and expressed the hope that this personal link would enhance the pleasure of His Majesty's visit to the land of his birth.

The President expressed great admiration for the steps taken under the King's leadership to foster the economic and social development of Thailand in harmony with the aspirations and ideals of the Thai people. He voiced profound respect for the moral inspiration which the King's devotion to the welfare of his people continues to provide.

In their review of the world situation, the President and the King expressed their mutual concern with the vital problem of preserving freedom and independence as well as achieving lasting peace and establishing a world order based on international justice. They reasserted their determination to work towards these goals, the achievement of which will contribute immensely to the general progress, prosperity, and welfare of mankind. They noted that the staunch adherence of Thailand and the United States to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization demonstrates a mutual belief in the indispensability of collective security as a means of preserving the frontiers of the free world from aggression and Of promoting the peaceful objectives shared by both countries. The President took this occasion to pay tribute to the steadfast partnership of Thailand and the United States in all fields and reaffirmed to His Majesty the unwavering determination of the United States fully to honor its treaty commitments undertaken in the cause of collective security.

The President and the King expressed a common belief in the ideal of enhancing human dignity as the well-spring by which a free society prospers and is nourished. They agreed that the American and Thai peoples are dedicated to abiding respect for the principles of the sovereignty and independence of nations and of genuine noninterference in the affairs of others. They voiced their profound conviction that any attempt by any nation to impose its own economic system or political beliefs on any other country should be condemned.

In recalling the long and fruitful tradition of friendship which binds the United States and Thailand the President assured the King of the continuing determination of the United States to assist the Royal Government of Thailand in its noble objective of promoting the economic and social development of the country for the lasting benefit of the Thai people. The President and the King expressed their mutual desire to maintain and further to strengthen the bonds of close and cordial collaboration between Thailand and the United States, both directly and through the United Nations and other appropriate international organizations in which the two countries share membership, confident that in so doing they are responsive to the highest aspirations of their peoples for a world in which peace, freedom and the sanctity of human dignity are honored and cherished.