Dear Mr. Snyder:
It is a great pleasure again to welcome to Washington the Boards of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund. Two years ago when the Boards of Governors met in Washington, the Fund and the Bank had completed the organizational phase of their work and were just about to start active operations.
In this period of time, the Fund and the Bank have made notable progress toward attaining their objectives, although they have operated under conditions which were not entirely favorable to their realization. This makes their achievements even greater, and much remains to be done. Conditions of world finance are still far from the norm envisioned at the Bretton Woods Conference. It was true then, as it is now, that conditions of economic stability and prosperity throughout the world depend upon the cooperative effort of all nations.
We look forward to an increasingly important role for the Fund and the Bank in the coming years. I trust that the present meetings of the Governors will give renewed impetus to economic cooperation in the financial sphere.
Please extend to the members of the Boards of Governors my personal good wishes for the success of these meetings.
Sincerely yours,
(s) Harry S. Truman