Foreign Minister Abba Eban pledged last night that “Israel will maintain and expand its development role in cooperation with all states who find advantage and utility in cooperation with us.” Eban spoke at the closing session of the 7th Rehovoth Conference devoted to “economic growth in developing countries,” and presided at the conference sponsored by the Weizmann Institute of Science which opened Sept. 5 and was attended by 140 delegates, including 17 Cabinet ministers from 50 countries.
Eban said, “We are not deaf to the rancor and invective which degrade too many sectors of international life. I know the pressures exerted by Israel’s adversaries on Israel’s friends. But we shall not be intimidated by rhetorical violence to the point of losing sight of larger visions.”
He added: “To the scientists and scholars who have illuminated our conference, I give a message of appreciation and respect. We shall continue to make Israel a meeting ground between the leaders of the scientific movement and those who are charged with the burdens of policy and administration in countries where too many millions are still cut off from all prospects of health, welfare and creative self-expression.”
Eban had observed, at the opening of the conference, that “the targets of the Development Decade have not been met.” He noted that although 90 percent of the human race now live under their own sovereign flags, “the swift accession of freedom has not been accompanied by a parallel growth of economic and social welfare.” He said that in their disappointment, the developing countries hoped that the scientific community might provide some of the answers and that the Rehovoth conferences were established “to serve as a bridge between scientists and the statesmen and administrators.”
Premier Golda Meir sent a message to the Conference assuring the delegates that Israel would continue to do its best to “help those wronged in history. We in Israel have always held that it is the duty of those more fortunate nations, who for various historical and other reasons have enjoyed the benefits of science and technology, to assist less fortunate nations who are now seeking ways to improve the lives of their citizens.”
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