SINO-SOVIET BLOC ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B01090R000700010045-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2005
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: October 28, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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SECRET
BIWEEKLY REPORT
SINO -SOVIET BLOC
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS
EIC-WGR-1 /45
28 October 1957
PREPARED BY THE WORKING GROUP
ON SINO-SOVIET BLOC ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS
SECRET VA
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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
11 - 24 October 1957
Syrian efforts to enlarge and modernize its armed forces with
Bloc assistance constitute t'Le. most significant 'recent development
affecting the economic relations between the Sino-Soviet Bloc and
the underdeveloped countries of the Free World. Reports of recent
arrangements stemming from the visit to Moscow in July of high
Syrian defense officials indicate that Syria is to receive considerable
additional quantities of small arms; rocket launchers and artillery;
about 30 to 40 aircraft; and a number of naval vessels, including
possibly 2 small submarines. The total value of the arms to be de-
li'v.e:red under the new agreement may be as large as $25 million.
An appreciable expansion of Soviet Bloc activity in Yemen has
recently taken place. Improvement of port facilities at Salif, ac-
complished by Bloc technicians, has made possible a significant
increase in the flow of Bloc military equipment to Yemen. Other
projects undertaken by Bloc technicians include the assembly of
military equipment and the construction of an airfield; the construc-
tion. of a port at al Kathib; and a ground-water survey as well as
such projects as the development of highways, communications facill,-
ties, and industrial plants.
The USSR is putting pressure on Sudan to accept its economic
offers which were extended in August 1957 and is said to have pro-
posed that Soviet-Sudanese ministerial discussions be held. The
Sudanese Prime Minister is reported to have indicated that he would
not accept cotton barter agreements with the USSR if the present
cotton crisis can be resolved by sales to the West or by a British
loan with cotton as security.
Cambodia will allocate almost two-thirds of its grant from Com-
munist China for industrial projects, apparently reversing an earlier
plan to favor agriculture. Other Bloc activity in Southeast Asia includes
the agreement reached between Burma and North Korea which stipulates
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that each country will station trade delegations in the capital city of
the other.
Soviet Bloc economic activities in the Middle East and Africa in-
clude the acceptance by Iran of a Soviet offer to dredge the Caspian
port of Pahlavi and the sale by Uganda of long- sta le cotton valued
approximately
Egypt, which
received percent of its wheat imports from the USSR last year,
will buy all its wheat from the West this year.
. Work on installations for the Soviet reactor at the Vinca Nuclear
Research Institute, near Belgrade, is proceeding satisfactorily under
the supervision of Soviet technicians. A Soviet engineer is said to be
supervising the construction, and six other Soviet technicians are
supervising the production of semiprocessed uranium ore at the Kalna
mines near Knjazevac.
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CONTENTS
I. Southeast Asia .
A. Chinese Communist Aid Program in Cambodia .
$. Negotiation of Trade Agreement Between
Burma and North Korea . . . . . . . . . .
II. Middle East and Africa . . . . . . . .
A. Technical Assistance of the Bloc to Yemen . .
B. Military Assistance of the Bloc to Syria . . . .
C. Shift in. Source of Egyptian Imports of Wheat . .
D. Indications of Soviet Pressure on Sudan . . . .
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F. Acceptance of Soviet Offer to Dredge Iranian
Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G. Bloc Purchases of Cotton from Uganda . . .
III. Europe (Yugoslav Cooperation with the USSR
in Nuclear Research) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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