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Coll 54/1(S) 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Reconstruction' [‎283v] (570/940)

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The record is made up of 1 file (468 folios). It was created in 20 Mar 1949-13 Dec 1949. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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The Syrian Government's royalties and other revenue from oil
concessions will be insignificant during the next few years. It is
estimated that revenues derived from the Middle East Pipeline, when
completed, will amount only to about £ 300,000 a year. No figures are
available in respect of the proposed I.P.C. Pipeline but it is
likely that revenues will be lower than in the case of the Middle
East Pipeline. Figures obtained from American sources suggest that
revenues derived from the Trans-Arabian Pipeline will lniLixfc£20.QOO
annually from transit taxes and £ 62,300 from "export taxes".
Purchases of Syria.n pounds for local expenditure by British
Companies will amount to about £ ij. million a year during the next
few years but this figure will decrease sharply as soon as pipeline
construction is completed. Moreover, the figure includes local
expenditure by the Syrian Petroleum Company (paragraph 9 above) who
will probably cease prospecting during the next year if no oil is
found. The picture will .of course be changed in the event of the
Syrian Petroleum Company striking oil.
The internal financial position is shaky and there is marked
inflation. The effect of this is well illustrated by the price of
Syrian wheat (see paragraph 5 (i) above). It is obvious that the sale
of Syria f s new season wheat surplus (estimated at 200,000 tons) will
present difficulties, and that similar difficulties will recur until
the prices of Syria f s exportable commodities come more or less into
line with world's prices.
17# INTERNATIONAL BANK.
While Syria is a member of the I.M.F. and of the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development she has not so far sought
the assistance of the Bank.
18. CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT ROAPn.
In their Report to the Syrian Government in ‘1947 Sir Alexander
Gibb and Partners urged the immediate formation of a Central Develop
ment Board, the duties of which would be, in the first stage, advisory
and, in the second, executive. They suggested that, in the first
stage, the Board should study the recommendations for development
contained in the Survey and report on them to the Government. In the
second stage, the Board would become responsible for the detailed
implementation of the plan for development decided /u-non

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Content

The file contains papers relating to the Middle East (Official) Committee. It consists of: papers circulated to members of the Committee, received by the External Department of the Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO); a few items of CRO correspondence with the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office, and Commonwealth governments; and a register of papers received or sent by the CRO relating to the Committee, with internal CRO correspondence (at the back of the file).

The file includes agendas for meetings of the Committee, and minutes of the meetings on 28 April, 5 May, 5 July and 19 July 1949. Matters discussed and recorded in the minutes include: the reconstitution of the Committee; the re-settlement of Arab refugees from Palestine; the report on Economic and Social Development in the Middle East by the Working Party of the Committee; the future work of the Committee; the Conference of HM Representatives in the Middle East to be held in London from 26 to 29 July 1949; United States President Truman’s ‘Fourth Point’ (Truman’s message of 24 June 1949 to the United States House of Representatives, communicating a ‘Recommendation for the Enactment of Legislation to Authorise an Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance for Underdeveloped Areas of the World’); and further studies of the Working Party.

The file also includes the following papers prepared by (or approved by) the Working Party of the Committee: draft, revised and interim versions of the report on Economic and Social Development in the Middle East; papers relating to the economic and social development of Iraq, Syria, Greater Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan , Egypt, the Lebannon, Saudi Arabia, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, Eritrea and Somalia, and the Colony of Aden and the Aden Protectorate; and a paper on Middle East oil.

In addition, the file includes other papers relating to matters discussed at the meetings, and the following subjects: Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; irrigation development in Iraq; Persia’s [Iran’s] Seven Year Plan for development; informal conversations on social and economic affairs in the Middle East between representatives of the Foreign Office, the Treasury, the British Embassy in Washington, and the United States State Department; the work of the Development Division of British Middle East Office; a survey of the oil resources of the Middle East; and economic development in Cyprus in relation to the Middle East.

Extent and format
1 file (468 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Numbers in red pen on the top right hand corner of items in the file refer to entries in the register of papers received and sent by the Commonwealth Relations Office at the back of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 468; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 54/1(S) 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Reconstruction' [‎283v] (570/940), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/4756, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100043455636.0x0000ab> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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