Reference: My immediately preceding telegram.?

 The Minister had two talks with Nehru. I accompanied him to both. The first talk on November 4 lasted for about one and one half hours, and the second on November 5 for about two hours. Bhabha of the Indian Atomic Energy Board was present for the last half-hour of the first talk and Dutt was present for all but the first twenty minutes or so of the second talk which was concerned almost entirely with Indo-China.

2. I am reporting in separate telegram on:

(a) the invitation to Mister Nehru to visit Canada;?

(b) atomic energy;⁶⁶ and

(c) Indo-China.⁶⁷

3. I am sending by despatch the two documents which the Minister gave Nehru on his visit to the Soviet Union. The first is [a] slightly expurgated version of the memorandum which he sent to Mister St. Laurent⁶⁸ and the second is a very slightly modified version of the telegram reporting on his talks with Khrushchev.⁶⁹

4. Nehru was very relaxed, affable and unhurried. The first day he listened carefully and with interest to what the Minister had to say but volunteered almost no information or comments himself. The second day he was a little more forthcoming but he left Dutt to make the running on Indo-China.

5. At the first meeting, the Minister expressed his appreciation of Indian hospitality, particularly at Gangtok, and of the Indian generosity in calling the Mayurakshi Dam after Canada. He extended the invitation to Nehru to visit Canada, and made the formal offer of an emergency flood relief contribution.⁷⁰ He also gave his impressions of Russia. The first meeting ended with the Minister discussing the NRX reactor with Bhabha, a discussion in which Nehru did not participate. The second meeting was devoted almost entirely to the situation in Indo-China. In addition, the Minister brought up the question of our recognition of Peking China and said that we were thinking of moving in step with Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.⁷¹ As far as recognition by the United States was concerned, the Minister said that it seemed probable that recognition would not take place until after the U.S. presidential elections and then presumably by Democratic régime probably under Stevenson.

6. Nehru thoroughly enjoyed his talks with the Minister. I think the talks have helped Nehru to clarify his own mind on Indo-China and perhaps to correct distortions in his picture of the Soviet Union.

[E.] REID