SINO-SOVIET BLOC ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B01090R000700010029-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2005
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: March 18, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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BIWEEKLY REPORT
SINO - SOVIET BLOC
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS
EIC-WGR-1 /29
18 March 1957
PREPARED BY THE WORKING GROUP
ON SINO-SOVIET BLOC ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS
SECRET iit
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SECRET
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SECRET
THIS MATERIAL CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECT-
ING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES
WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE LAWS,
TITLE 18, USC, SECTIONS 793 AND 794, THE TRANSMIS-
SION OR REVELATION OF WHICH IN ANY MANNER TO
AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.
These biweekly reports on "Sino-Soviet Bloc Economic Ac-
tivities in Underdeveloped Areas" are prepared and issued
by a Working Group of the Economic Intelligence Commit-
tee, including representatives of the Departments of State,
the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, Commerce, and Agricul-
ture; the International Cooperation Administration; the
Office of the Secretary of Defense; and the Central Intelli-
gence Agency. Their purpose is to provide up-to-date fac-
tual information on significant developments in the eco-
nomic relations of Sino-Soviet Bloc countries with under-
developed countries of the Free World. The EIC-R-14 series
of reports, under the same title, provide periodic summaries
and analytical interpretations of these developments.
Printed and Disseminated by the
Central Intelligence Agency
SECRET
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Summary of Events
1 - 14 March 1957
The most important Sino-Soviet Bloc activities in underdeveloped
countries of the Free World during the period 1 - 14 March 1957 were
(1) the arrival in Egypt of a group of Soviet engineers, allegedly to
build dams, bridges, and factories, and (2) the reported offer by Soviet
Defense Minister Marshal Zhukov of military equipment to India.
The Soviet engineers in Egypt are headed by a supervisor believed
to have considerable experience in foreign trade and in the administra-
tion of engineering projects.
The offer of Soviet military equipment to India by Zhukov has
apparently not been rejected, but logistic problems and Indian reluctance
to become dependent on Soviet supplies probably will make the Indian
government hesitant about accepting the offer. In the same area, how-
ever, the government of Afghanistan has signed a contract with the
USSR for communications equipment valued at almost $500, 000.
Arrangements for the sale of 100, 000 tons of rice by private interests
in Thailand to Communist China have reportedly been completed. The
transaction is legal, and completion of the sale is probable. Although
contrary to the Thai government's policy of discouraging trade with
Communist China, the transaction represents the first significant trade
between the two countries since the Korean War. Also in the Far East,
the construction of various office buildings for the Cambodian govern-
ment is likely to be the first project to get under way under the Chinese
Communist aid program for Cambodia.
In the Middle East, in addition to the arrival of Soviet engineers in
Egypt, as noted above, Czechoslovakia has contracted to purchase about
one-third of the annual production of phosphate in Jordan. Czechoslovak
trade delegations have been active in Jordan during the past year., and
offers of credits for industrial development and of a commission of ex-
perts to study the phosphate and potash industries in Jordan have been
given to the Jordanian government.
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In Latin America, Cuba has sold 200, 000 Spanish long tons of sugar
to the USSR. The transaction was arranged through official government
agencies of both countries, and the payment to Cuba will be in excess of
$26 million, presumably in US dollars. The sale constitutes the first
major Bloc sugar purchase in Latin America since early 1956.
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CONTENTS
Page
A. Possible Offer of Soviet Military Equipment
to India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Afghan-Soviet Communications Equipment
Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Chinese Communist Aid Program in Cambodia . 3
A. Soviet Engineers in Cairo . . 4
B. Czechoslovak Interest in Jordan's Phosphate
Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
IV. Latin America (Major Soviet Purchase of Cuban
Sugar) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
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