I should like to begin my remarks by expressing my thanks to the President of the United States for honoring us with his presence this morning, for the gracious words he has spoken on the work of our institutions, and for the encouragement he has given to our future efforts.

This year, even more strongly than in previous years, I have been impressed by the frank and constructive comments on the Fund’s activities which Governors have made during the meeting. I cannot overemphasize how valuable it is to the Directors and staff to know the candid opinions of our members. It is obviously impossible to respond in detail here to the many helpful ideas that have been put forward, but you may be sure that they will be carefully studied in the coming months.

In the near future the Executive Directors will be considering the renewal of the General Arrangements to Borrow under which the Fund can call on supplementary resources in the currencies of the ten participants. The participants agreed during this week that they would support a decision of the Fund to renew the Arrangements for four years, and this is to be welcomed. The Arrangements have already been very useful and, in my view, they should be renewed. The resources available to the Fund should also be augmented shortly by the coming into effect of the quota increase.

The central subject of this week has been international liquidity, and I believe we can all be gratified with the progress that was made here on this subject—progress in terms of the commitment to accelerate the search for a satisfactory solution, progress in terms of a clearer understanding of the direction in which a satisfactory solution will have to be found.

The statements by Governors at this conference have made it clear—if there was ever any doubt about this—that there is overwhelming agreement in the world on three points: first, that liquidity is a matter that concerns all countries; second, that interests of all members are best reconciled by international discussion in the Fund; and third, that general action to deal with the problem of liquidity should be taken within the framework of the Fund.

We in the Fund have been very much encouraged by this and I am looking forward to an intensive study of the main aspects of liquidity by the staff and by the Executive Directors. I hope that this study will shed further light on the complex issues of this subject and help to provide a basis for action. Many of the statements which we have heard this week have made outstanding and searching contributions to the work that lies before us, and I should like to stress how much we will benefit from this.

I have also been much heartened by the general acceptance of the view which I expressed in my opening remarks, namely, that ways should be found whereby the efforts of the Executive Board of the Fund and those of the Deputies of the Group of Ten can be directed toward a consensus on desirable lines of action. This will require that each of the two bodies be kept informed of the trend of thinking of the other during all stages of the work.

In my opening remarks I indicated our hope to report further progress in the near future in respect of our compensatory financing facility. I assure you that careful consideration will be given to the many comments which have been made about this facility. I have particularly in mind the thoughtful statement of the Governor for Argentina, which is especially valuable in presenting the views agreed after careful preparatory discussion by all our members in Latin America and by the Philippines.

As this twentieth Annual Meeting of our institutions draws to its close, and with thoughts of their further evolution active in our minds, we can, I think, take encouragement from the progress which has been achieved. These last 20 years have testified to the soundness of our international monetary system and have demonstrated that nations can cooperate effectively in combating the economic hazards which afflicted them a generation ago. On this foundation we can surely build.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I should like to join with you in congratulating the Governor for Iran on his designation as Chairman of the Boards of Governors for the coming year. I thank the Government of Brazil for its invitation, and I am grateful to the Governor for the remarks which he has made. Finally, Mr. Chairman, I should like to say how much I have enjoyed my association with you during your tenure of office.