Statement by the President Concerning the Agreement With Canada on the Water Resources of the Columbia River Basin.

IT IS with pleasure that I announce basic agreement in the negotiations, initiated in January of this year, between the United States and Canada looking toward the formulation of a treaty for the cooperative development of the water resources of the Columbia River Basin.

The negotiators have transmitted to the two governments a joint report, dated September 28, recommending the basis upon which the drafting of a treaty should proceed. For the Government of the United States I have today approved that report and am making it public herewith. Prime Minister Diefenbaker is today making a similar announcement on behalf of the Government of Canada.

The agreement is heartening proof that two neighboring nations sharing a common resource can sit down together and plan a mutually advantageous development. In these days of international tensions, not the least important aspect of these negotiations is the example they provide for the resolution of international problems through a process of mutual examination and mutual accommodation of views which has traditionally characterized relationships between Canada and the United States.

The translation of this basic agreement into a draft treaty will now be undertaken by the negotiators of the two Governments.