Israeli and American experts convened here in Prime Minister Levi Eshkol’s office today to open a lengthy series of conferences designed to implement a joint U.S.A. -Israel effort for increasing researches toward the use of nuclear energy for desalination of sea water. The initial meeting was attended by Mr. Eshkol and by Walworth Barbour, United States Ambassador to Israel.
Addressing the meeting, Mr. Eshkol reviewed Israel’s needs for water, stressing the fact that, already, Israel is utilizing 85 per cent of the country’s water resources. Underscoring American-Israel friendship, the Premier voiced the hope that the joint committee will “find a harmonious way to proceed speedily to its goal.” Israel, he declared, has “sufficient manpower to contribute” to the joint project.
Mr. Eshkol praised President Johnson, not only for entering the agreement for the formation of the current joint committee, but also for his initiative in convening, this year, the International Conference on Desalination. That conference, said Mr. Eskil, “will benefit all of mankind.” He recalled that when he conferred with President Johnson in Washington last month, it was agreed that experience to be gained from the U.S.-Israel project will be placed at the disposal of all countries throughout the world.
The joint committee is expected to continue the present stage of its discussions until about the middle of next month. Among the items on the agenda are determination of the type of nuclear reactor to be employed in the desalination research, and on the choice of a site in Israel for that reactor.
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