Coll 15/5 'EGYPT British community in Egypt: problems of post-war reconstruction' [‎19r] (37/68)

2 of the Convention, protection against discriminatory
legislation, and the numerous scheduled Institutions of an
^Educational, Medical or Charitable character will remain free
to carry out their activities and maintain their staffs under
the terms of the letters exchanged on 8th May, 1937, After 1949,
however, these advantages which were strictly limited to the
transition period will disappear. The only shreds of the
concessions given at toontreux that will remain are the
declaration that the limitation to this period of the under-
taking not to discriminate against foreigners does not connote
any intention of doing so when the period ends: the rather in
tangible assert! n that in applying lav/s to foreigners the
Egyptian Government's policy will not be incompatible with the
generally adopted principles of modern legislation: and the
suggestion in the exchange of letters above referred to that
the privileges accorded for the transition period to scheduled
Institutions might be extended by the conclusion of a subsequent
agreement with, in the ease of British Institutions, HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ,
15, The recommendations in this Section of the Report are all
made with a view to early action, during the former of the above
periodSo It ’would be un-vise to wait until the later period when
the urgency would be even greater but the possibility of carrying
them out would probably be much lessened. In fact in many casec
the suggested action, if it is to be effective, should be taken
now with the Egyptian Government, in order that it may not be
found when the war comes to an end that British interests have
already been allowed to slip. The Committee have considered the
possibility of eventual recourse to commercial retaliatory
measures in the event of the Egyptian Government adopting an
attitude frankly hostile to the maintenance and development of
British trade. They recognise that this is a weapon that should
not be lightly used as it might well be found, if wrongly em
ployed, to aggravate rather than relieve the position, particular,
during the war it would be impossible to apply many otherwise
available measures of commercial pressure without injuring the
economy of Egypt to the detriment of the war effort. Neverthele 1
it is suggested that all possible methods of applying such
pressure should be studied now with a view to their application
at some future date if it should become necessary and
desirable to do so. It is hoped that even then the threat
of application might be sufficient.
16, The most obvious method by which the British
yt,,«vCommunity (which will then be predominantly commercial and
> not, as in previous times, conspicuously official) can be
helped is by the encouragement of British trade in Egypt, For
a grade drive should be organised and supported
Uni tpa h «-i° b ^ e0t ™ kln S Egyptians buy their goods from the
United Aingdom and the Dominions, thus increasing the
a£ents U of Brfti'T J 0cally established British tradesmen and
", n? n tS f Brltlsh f irms. It is known that the British Chambers
tL"npnn r ? e a f® ? tr ; on Sly urging such a post-war drive through
!T nt ° f ? verseas Trade, and that this proposal is
the Briti^h e r i£ 0nSiderat i° n by the Commercial Secretariats of
in%eneral h tenmr S1 n S t and Tf gations in Nea r Eastern Countries,
in general terms. But m the case of Egypt it is considered
that a special opportunity is offered by the Treaty The
/
Alliance/