Steering Group on Middle East Development: minutes, papers and correspondence

This file contains correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, and reports by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s Middle East Steering Group, concerning building closer economic relations with oil-producing countries in the Middle East in the wake of the economic crisis precipitated by the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It covers:

• Visits by British missions to Saudi Arabia to discuss industrial development in the Kingdom
• Reports by country on current and proposed development projects
• Reports on French, US, and other industrialised countries’ economic activities in the Middle East
• The issue of oil prices
• Tables displaying all projects underway and under consideration in the Gulf States, Iran, and Iraq; the countries and companies involved; and their estimated cost
• Issues of labour and supply which affect the proposed projects
• The possibility of joint Anglo-Arab development projects in Africa; with reports on current Arab-funded projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Proposed joint British-UAE projects in Syria
• The restoration of diplomatic relations with Iraq, and discussions on improving economic cooperation
• Efforts to attract investment of surplus revenues from oil-exporting countries in Britain
• Opportunities for British investment in Egypt
• Attempts to determine a priority list of countries where British initiatives should be concentrated
• The Arab League’s proposal to create an Arab Guarantee Bank to underwrite foreign investment
• The future of British technical assistance programmes in the Middle East