| |
aide-mémoire
A written statement of a government\'s attitude on a particular question which is left by a diplomatic agent with the interlocutor, typically a ministry official, to whom an oral presentation has just been made. Occasionally known as a promemoria or simply as a ‘memorandum’, it is usually handed over in person by the diplomat at the end of the interview, or if necessary delivered shortly afterwards with a covering note attached. As a result, the aide-mémoire has no need for marks of provenance or courtesy and bears little resemblance to a note. It has no address or embassy stamp, contains no salutations, and is unsigned. Instead, the classic aide-mémoire is simply headed Aide-Mémoire and dated at the end. Its purpose is to reinforce the representations made by the diplomat and – in case he or she should have forgotten to mention some important point, made a mess of a second, or given insufficient or too much emphasis to a third – leave no room for ambiguity about the attitude of his or her government. Since it will only be in exceptional circumstances that its text is not also the main part of the diplomat\'s own script, the aide-mémoire is well named: it is an aid to everyone\'s memory. The more junior the official to whom a statement has been made, the more important it is that its contents be confirmed by an aide-mémoire. |
|
