Official Committee on the Middle East: Papers 1-36

This file contains memoranda for the Official Committee on the Middle East from 23 January 1957 to 21 May 1957. Those relevant to the Gulf are the memoranda concerning:

• HMG’s future policy in the Middle East, including Britain’s aim to counter Russian influence in the Middle East, and Russian efforts to become the sole arms suppliers in the Middle East; and the question of what measures should Britain take to stimulate its trade with the Middle East (1, 6, 7, 15, 22, 31)
• The financial position of Iraq and the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC); and the question of what Britain can do to help (3, 5, 8, 9)
• HMG’s wish for a long term Palestine settlement, under which the Arab States and Israel will be reconciled and live happily together (10)
• Middle East expenditure (11)
• The destruction of the IPC’s pipeline in Syria, and the threat to destroy the trans-Arabian pipeline in the same country; and the question of what measures need to be taken to improve the security of oil transit by pipeline through Middle Eastern countries (13)
• Anglo-American cooperation in the Middle East (14)
• The dollar cost of importing oil on certain assumptions, as to Middle East production and UK consumption (16)
• The future of the ‘Soviet economic offensive’ in the Middle East (18)
• Anglo-American discussions on Middle East policy, including reference to: Arab nationalism, Afro-Asianism, the system of protection in the Gulf, and economic development and aid (27)
• The proposals for increased expenditure on economic assistance under the Baghdad Pact (30)
• Kuwait’s investment in other Middle Eastern countries; and the question of whether a Kuwaiti member should be appointed to be a representative of the Investment Board (32)
• Italian and other European participation in the exploitation of Middle East oil (35)