1964-65 New York World's Fair Groundbreaking and Dedication Booklets

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JUNE 27, 1 963

Pavilion of the Republic of

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GROUNDBREAKING AT THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965

OV^TS The Pavilion of the Republic
of Sudan will be of contemporary
Islamic design of reinforced concrete:
the enclosure of the second

floor will have a teak lattice of
Islamic design, and on the facade

will be a native mosaic. Exhibits
will include cinema programs,

native entertainment and publicity
and information booths. Architects

for the pavilion are Noel and
Miller of New York.

Excerpts from transcription of remarks made
by Sudanese and World's Fair officials at the
groundbreaking for the Pavilion of the Republic
of Sudan at the New York World's Fair, Thurs-
day, June 27, 1963-

AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. PATTERSON, JR.
[Chief of Protocol]: Ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to
welcome you to this ceremony — in this typical Sudanese
weather. And by the way, if you haven't been to that won-
derful country, Governor Poletti tells me that you must
go because you will see sights that rank among the seven
wonders of the world.

We are gathered here this afternoon for a very happy
and important ceremony: the breaking of ground for the
Pavilion of the Republic of Sudan, which has been spe-
cially designed to include both entertainment and educa-
tion. Our first speaker is a distinguished international
lawyer and a former governor of the State of New York.
He and his wife Jean went to the Republic of Sudan and
personally delivered the invitation of the Fair officials to

1963 New York Worlds Foir 1964-1965 Corporotion

the people of Sudan. I now presenc to you the former
governor of the State of New York, The Honorable
Charles Poletti.

GOVERNOR CHARLES POLETTI [Vice President,
International Affairs and Exhibits]: Distinguished Am-
bassador, Mr. Moses, Ambassador Patterson , and my asso-
ciate Mr. Harris. This is a moment that gives me an
enormous thrill. When Mrs. Poletti and I landed in
Khartoum and presented the official invitation, we could
hardly envisage the moment that we are experiencing now.
We are thrilled to have the Republic of Sudan participat-
ing in this great venture, because we made a strong effort
to obtain the presence at the Fair of the new nations of
the vast and significant African continent. We are pleased
that Sudan is here exemplifying the new nations. As Mr.
Moses has often said, this World's Eair will not be de-
voted to a lot of protocol, but we sincerely hope that what
we do here will develop a better understanding between
peoples. Speaking for myself as an American, I look for-
ward to a better understanding between those of us of the
Christian, Jewish,and Moslem faiths. As Mrs. Poletti and
I traveled around the world, we became staunch admirers
of the Moslems. They are a stalwart, sturdy, loyal and
courageous people, and I think we in the free world are
lucky to have them on our side.

I like to think of Sudan as exemplifying the ambition,
the drive, the progressive spirit of a new people. My mind
goes back to the visit that we made, Mr. Ambassador, to
your new development — your Gezira Scheme — where

I saw all the reclaimed land producing wonderful long
staple cotton. I was told of your plans for the enlargement
of your dams, including the Sennar Dam, outside of
Khartoum. I was deeply impressed by the new factory
you're building for the manufacture of cotton. Instead of
having to import cotton you are going to manufacture it
out of your short staple cotton and export your long staple,
which means gold reserves for your country. Sudan is a
progressive country; a country which wants to push for-
ward and help its people.

We at the World's Fair are delighted that Sudan will
be present, and we think that the Sudanese Pavilion will
add immeasurably to the success of our World's Fair. I
thank you again for the friendships which we started and
which will develop with greater and greater richness.
Thank you very, very much.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON : Thank you, Governor
Poletti. The dynamic, creative genius who runs this Fair,
which is complex but is going to be the greatest show on
earth, is Robert Moses. His accomplishments are world-
renowned and I shall not attempt to tell you of the many,
many honors he has received from various countries and
universities. I present The Honorable Robert Moses,
president of the New York World's Fair.

MR. ROBERT MOSES: Mr. Patterson, Ambassadors,
ladies and gentlemen. I can remember, as a very small boy.
my first trip to Europe with my parents. I have no clear
recollection of anything except the Diamond Jubilee, and
subsequently, when I got to school and college, I began

Participating in the groundbreaking were: (left to right) Governor Poletti,
vice president in charge of International Affairs and Exhibits at the Fair;
His Excellency, Omar Abdel Hamid Adeel, Ambassador of the Republic of
Sudan to the United Nations; Robert Moses, president of the Fair; His Excel-
lency, Dr. Osman el-Hadari, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to the
United States.

4

PORT SUDAN •

ATBARA
OMDURMAN

KHARTOUM •

KASSALA

EL OBEID

WAD
MEDANI

SUDAN IS LOCATED IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF
AFRICA. IT OCCUPIES 967.248 SQUARE MILES. ITS CAPI-
TAL CITY IS KHARTOUM.

reading Kipling and I read "The Recessional." What
Kipling wrote about the British Empire and its morning
drumbeat going around the world sounded absurd at
the time but proved to be a very accurate prophecy. The
substance of what he said in "The Recessional" was that
they'd better become a little more modest and a little more
modern and realize that maybe they wouldn't be able to
hold this thing together.

Then later, as a very young man, I happened to be in
Europe, at the funeral of King Edward VII; And back of
the guncarriage, with the coffin of the King, the riderless
horse and the ownerless dog, were a whole series of troops,
kings and queens, and the United States representative,
Theodore Roosevelt, who was riding with a representative
of Siam. In the very front row were the new King and the
Duke of Connaught and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

I reflect now that out of this entire troop representing
all those countries and all those monarchs, there are only
three monarchies left today. These people and their
families are forgotten. What's the moral? Well, the moral
is that today there are ambitious new people and new
nations emerging. Some of them aren't really new — I
don't know enough about African history to have any idea
of just what earlier civilizations there were but I know
there were very well-defined and very distinguished civili-
zations in what is now the Sudan and the surrounding
regions long before the United States was heard of.

The Fair, under the leadership of Governor Poletti, has
given these new nations an immense amount of time con-

sidering the numbers of people involved and the amount
of money that exhibitors are able to spend, because we are
genuinely interested in their success and we want them to
put their best foot forward here. We want them to show
graphically what they are doing and what they are aiming
at.

That's one of the very great objectives of this Fair. For
that reason, I am happy as head of the Fair, to welcome
the representatives of the Sudan. Thank you.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you, President
Moses. Before introducing the next speaker I should like
to present two distinguished members of the visiting
party. The first is the renowned economist who entered
the foreign service of his country in 1956, and served as
Counselor and Minister at the Embassy of the Republic
of the Sudan in Washington until the end of 196l. He is
Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs of the
Sudanese Foreign Office and a Sudanese delegate by elec-
tion of the United Nations to the Fifth Committee of the
United Nations. I have great pleasure in presenting
Mohamad Ahmed.

MR. MOHAMED A. AHMED: I don't have anything
to say except to express my deep appreciation of what has
been said about my country, and I regard myself very
fortunate at being able to attend this historic ceremony.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you. Now a
distinguished barrister and diplomat who studied in
London and had an honorary degree from Ontario. He
has held many important posts in his government and led
6

many of the Sudanese delegations to foreign countries.
His Excellency, Omar Abdel Hamid Adeel, Ambassador
to the United Nations and Consul General in New York
of the Republic of Sudan.

HIS EXCELLENCY, OMAR ABDEL HAMID
ADEEL: Thank you very much indeed. I, like my col-
league Mr. Ahmed, would like to say how grateful we are
to you for inviting us to participate in this significant
ceremony, and, Mr. Ambassador, as you know, we have
here some clear jurisdiction between Ambassador to the
Uniced States and Ambassador to the United Nations.
This falls under the jurisdiction of the Ambassador to the
United States and I am sure he will express the senti-
ments of the Sudanese.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you very
much. Our next speaker is a well-known doctor and dis-
tinguished diplomat, who attended the School of Science
in Khartoum and the Faculty of Medicine at the Univer-
sity of Alexandria. He practiced medicine with distinction
until he was appointed first Ambassador of the Republic
of the Sudan to Pakistan in 1956. He has been honored
by his country in many ways. I have the high privilege to
present to you His Excellency, Dr. Osman el-Hadari, Am-
bassador of the Republic of the Sudan to the United States.

HIS EXCELLENCY, DR. OSMAN EL-HADARI:
Thank you very much, Ambassador Patterson. Mr. Moses,
Governor Poletti, Ambassador Adeel, distinguished
guests. I would like to digress a little from the text of my
remarks this afternoon — because I have been deeply

couched by the very fine words of Governor Polecti about
the people of Sudan and the generosity he found there. I'd
like to thank him from the depth of my hearc; I want to
assure him that everyone in the Sudan enjoyed Mrs.
Poletti's and his visit, brief as it was, to our country. And
I want to assure him that in that brief period he made
quite a number of friends for his country. I would like to
assure him also that he will find the same generosity when
he goes back to the Sudan in the future. I hope it will be
soon.

Ambassador Patterson, I consider it a very great pleas-
ure and indeed an honor to participate in the ground-
breaking for the Sudanese Pavilion in the New York
World's Fair. The decision of my government to take part
in the Fair, despite our extreme preoccupations at home,
has been prompted by the dedication of both the govern-
ment and the people of Sudan to the theme of Peace
through Understanding which has been adopted by the
Fair authorities.

It is our sincere hope that upon completion the Sudan-
ese Pavilion will be symbolic not only of the culture and
heritage of the people of the Sudan, not only of their
remarkable achievements in the economic and social fields
during the vet)- brief period of our independence, but
also of the devotion of the Sudan to the principle of
friendship and understanding between nations.

The main structure of our pavilion is intended to reflect
the traditional Sudanese architecture, while the exhibits
will project three main aspects of the country and the

people of the Sudan. First, the practical and well-con-
ceived ten year social and economic development plan
with special emphasis on social and economic planning in
selected areas. Second, the known ancient history of the
Sudan, which dates back as far as 4000 B.C., and also the
modern history of the country. And third, the way of life
and culture of the fourteen million Sudanese people.

The Republic of the Sudan, young as it is, is hopeful
thac the combined and concerted efforts of the Sudanese
people and of the government to raise the standard of
living will be understood and appreciated by all those who
visit the Fair from all parts of the world. We also hope
that as a result of our participation in the Fair, new ave-
nues will be opened for us for greater and more effective
exchanges in all fields between the Sudan and nations
around the world.

I cannot close these remarks without extending our
special thanks and deep appreciation to our friends in the
New York World's Fair Corporation for all the kind and
continuous assistance and advice they have extended us
since the day we decided to take part in this wonderful
effort. I trust that the Sudanese Pavilion will be a source
of pride to us. to the Fair Corporation, to our very able
architects, Messrs. Noel and Miller, and to our contrac-
tors, Messrs. Auserehl and Son. Thank you very much.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you, Your
Excellency. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the Ambassadors
accompanied by President Moses and Governor Poletti
will go to the bulldozer for the groundbreaking ceremony.

7

PAVILION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SUDAN

HIS EXCELLENCY DR. OSMAN EL-HADARI, Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan to the United States
HIS EXCELLENCY OMAR ABDEL HAMID ADEEL, Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan to the United Nations
HIS EXCELLENCY MOHAMAD A. AHMED, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan
MR. SALAH SALIH, Second Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Sudan

THE PAVILION OF THE REPUBLIC

OF SUDAN

will occupy

a site of

13.293 sq. ft.

in the

International

NEW YORK
WORLD'S FAIR
19 6 4-1965
COR PORATION
Flushing 52, N. Y.
Tel. 212-WF 4-1964

ROBERT MOSES, President

THOMAS J. DEEGAN, JR., Chairman of the Executive Committee

WILLIAM E. POTTER, Executive Vice President

CHARLES POLETTI, Vice President, International Affairs and Exhibits

STUART CONSTABLE, Vice President, Operations

WILLIAM BERNS, Vice President, Communications and Public Relations

ERWIN WITT, Comptroller

MARTIN STONE, Director of Industrial Section

GUY F. TOZZOLI, (Port of New York Authority) Transportation Section

ERNESTINE R. HAIG, Secretary or the Corporation and Assistant to the President

WILLIAM WHIPPLE, JR., Chief Engineer