The Working Party consider similarly that a proposal to attach a
Page 85 Regional Oil Adviser either to the Middle East Embassies or to the Middle East Development Division should be examined. He would serve as a link between H.M. Missions and the Oil Companies, and might be able to do useful work in educating local Governments in the commercial realities of the oil business.
20. The Working Party consider that the above proposals would substantially improve our influence in the area and the security of the flow of oil. The approximate additional expenditure involved if these interim proposals are approved would be of the order of £700,000 a year: including between £100,000 and £200,0000 of capital expenditure.
November 10, 1955.
102 I
APPENDIX A
(see paragraph 7)
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
British political and commercial influence in the Middle East can be enhanced by technical assistance in at least four ways: --
(a) to increase the Middle East Development Divisions;
(b) to establish a sizeable fund for the provision, free of ad hoc advisers and
consultants;
(c) to subsidise the salaries paid by local Governments to certain British
employees;
(d) to improve the British contribution to the technical training of Middle East
nationals either in their own countries or in the United Kingdom.
Immediate action can be taken in the first three cases.
Development Division
2. At present the Division has a Head of wide administrative and general experience and specialist advisers on agriculture, co-operatives, animal husbandry, forestry, labour, and statistics and economics. All are fully occupied and considerably raise our prestige in the relevant Departments of Middle East Governments. Odious comparisons are drawn against the United Nations and Point IV advisers. The co-operative adviser is so overburdened that it will be necessary to re-engage on a part-time basis a former Development Division adviser (Mr. Cheesman) to deal particularly with Egypt and Libya. The cost should not be more than £1,000 a year.
3. The Division's usefulness can, however, be increased by adding to the present largely agricultural staff an industrial engineer who might be an expert in, say, mechanical engineering and familiar with electrical and chemical engineering. Such a man might cost £5,000 a year, or more according to the amount of travelling he does. He would not only advise local Governments at their request but would serve as a point of quick reference, for technical advice, by the Commercial Secretaries in the area. He should enable us to introduce a number of useful ad hoc advisers into the region: see below.
4. No provision is now requested for increasing the accommodation of the Development Division at Beirut. It is assumed that the Embassy can continue to house it for the present.
Ad Hoc Advisers' Fund
5. The Foreign Office already disposes of a very small fund (£2,700) which is used for planting short-term advisers to supplement the expertise available in the Development Division. It is considered now that a much larger fund should be provided for the same purpose. It would be administered in the same way, on the basis of recommendations submitted by H.M. Missions, on which the
Page 85
Page 85
7
Page ofworking Party consider similarly that a propage 86fað? 1a
attack Regional Oil Adviser either to the Middle East Embassies or to the Middle East Development Division should be examined. He would serve as a link between H.M. Missions and the Oil Companies, and might be able to do useful work in educating local Governments in the commercial realities of the oil business.
20. The Working Party consider that the above proposals would substantially improve our influence in the area and the security of the flow of oil. The approximate additional expenditure involved if these interim proposals are approved would be of the order of £700,000 a year: including between £100,000 and £200,0000 of capital expenditure.
November 10, 1955.
1021
APPENDIX A
(see paragraph 7)
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
British political and commercial influence in the Middle East can be enhanced by technical assistance in at least four ways:-
(a) to increase the Middle East Development Divisions;
(b) to establish a sizeable fund for the provision, free of ad hoc advisers and
consultants;
(c) to subsidise the salaries paid by local Governments to certain British
employees;
(d) to improve the British contribution to the technical training of Middle East
nationals either in their own countries or in the United Kingdom.
Immediate action can be taken in the first three cases.
Development Division
2. At present the Division has a Head of wide administrative and general experience and specialist advisers on agriculture, co-operatives, animal husbandry, forestry, labour, and statistics and economics. All are fully occupied and considerably raise our prestige in the relevant Departments of Middle East Governments. Odious comparisons are drawn against the United Nations and Point IV advisers. The co-operative adviser is so overburdened that it will be necessary to re-engage on a part-time basis a former Development Division adviser (Mr. Cheesman) to deal particularly with Egypt and Libya. The cost should not be more than £1,000 a year.
3. The Division's usefulness can, however, be increased by adding to the present largely agricultural staff an industrial engineer who might be an expert in, say, mechanical engineering and familiar with electrical and chemical engineering. Such a man might cost £5,000 a year, or more according to the amount of travelling he does. He would not only advise local Governments at their request but would serve as a point of quick reference, for technical advice, by the Commercial Secretaries in the area. He should enable us to introduce a number of useful ad hoc advisers into the region: see below.
4. No provision is now requested for increasing the accommodation of the Development Division at Beirut. It is assumed that the Embassy can continue to house it for the present.
Ad Hoc Advisers' Fund
5. The Foreign Office already disposes of a very small fund (£2,700) which is used for planting short-term advisers to supplement the expertise available in the Development Division. It is considered now that a much larger fund should be provided for the same purpose. It would be administered in the same way, on the basis of recommendations submitted by H.M. Missions, on which the
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