BRITISH QUERY ON RUSSIAN AIM OF HUGE FINANCE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22951, 20 May 1949, Page 5

BRITISH QUERY ON RUSSIAN AIM OF HUGE FINANCE

GENEVA, May 18.

During the debate of the Economic Commission for Europe on increasing East-West trade the British Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. C. P. Mayhew, refused to involve Britain in any large-scale Western investment in Europe. ! Mr. Mayhew opposed the Russian proposal that the Economic Commission for Europe should seek to organise international investment in underdeveloped countries, particularly in the East. “Frankly, Britain is in no position to resume substantial foreign lending,” he said. He added that he could not understand why Russia and other Eastern countries were so eager to add the task of trying to organise large-scale international development in underdeveloped countries to the work already allotted to the commission’s EastWest trade committee.

' At a moderatte estimate Russia and Eastern European countries were planning gross capital investment at the rate of £3,750,000,000 yearly to develop their own economiesi The only reason why these countries should want further Western capital investment would be because their own enormous investments were aimed in a direction which would not help EastWest trade. »

The Soviet delegate, Mr. Arutlunian, described as “commercial travellers’ talk aimed at catching customers” the accusations of the United States delegate, Mr. Paul Porter, that the Soviet Union was draining valuable material and goods from Eastern Europe in return for a minimum of low-grade supplies. Mr. Arutiunian quoted figures to show that Russian exports to Eastern Europe in 1943 exceeded the imports by 20 per cent.

The . Hungarian delegate said that Hungary’s economic position had so much improved that Hungarian food parcels were now being sent to persons in Western Europe.