On 8 October 1953, at the 166th meeting of the Permanent Commission of Western European Union (WEU), Sir Frank Roberts, Deputy Under-Secretary of State in the British Foreign Office, gives a progress report on the Anglo-Egyptian negotiations on the future of the Suez Canal bases. René Massigli, French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, pays tribute to British efforts in the region and emphasises the importance of the principle of free transit through the Suez Canal. The Permanent Commission also discusses French policy in Tunisia and Morocco.