Coll 28/110 ‘Persia. Economic & Financial Assistance by H.M.G.’ [‎23v] (46/79)

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(b) A special effort should be made to supply more ^
machinery (especially Diesel engines) and spare parts (mainly fo^
'ierman engine s).
(c) Development of trade with India .
This would of course be of mutual benefit to Persia
and India and would also indirectly benefit British interests and
influence* An essential step is the appointment of an Indian
Trade Commissioner ih Tehran,
(d) Air Transport .
Persia has poor ground communications and is there
fore a promising field for the development of air transport,
Persian State Airlines have urgently requested one or at most two
snail (DH 89) aircraft from us and provision of these would
greatly ease present transport difficulties and increase the
dentral Government's authority in the provinces. If we do not
provide them Americans will doubtless do so sooner or later,
(e) Public Works and Industrial Development ,
There is enormous scope f<Dr irrigation and^hydro
electric development in which British firms might participate,
ihe first would help Persia's basic industry, agriculture, and at
the same time provide water power for industrial development.
The Tehran area has good possibilities of this kind which are
being investigated by American irrigation adviser to the Persian
Government, Furthermore, the capital has not yet a piped water
supply. Similar development can be carried out in and near other
large cities. With cheap power available industry ^especially
chemical), mining and transport could be developed with profit,
(f) Technical Help .
(i) The ex-Shah's programme of industrialisation
required the help of European technicians to build and
run factories. Many of these were Germans. It will
be some years before the Persians are good enough
engineers and administrators to be independent of
foreign help: and we now have an excellent opportunity
of getting rid of German influence, which is still very .
strong in the commercial community, by placing British
technicians and machinery in the industries and
factories. The Middle East Supply Centre has a
nucleus of British specialists who are working to keep
Persian industry operating and would be an excellent
channel through whom permanent appointments of this kind
could be made.
. (ii) Experts are needed for the textile industry
(especially the cotton section) to improve metnods of
production and to advise on the maintenance of existing
equipment and the ordering of more machinery. They
would also select young Persians for training m the
United Kingdom. The r ailw ay needs trained men to take
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