Egypt’s Economic Relations with the Socialist Countries

Abstract

The pattern of economic relations between Egypt and the rest of the world has been dominated since the mid-1950s by close and significant links with the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries. These links involve trade, technical and financial aid, as well as arms supplies and other forms of military assistance. Soviet bloc countries have contributed to major development projects, mainly in industry and irrigation, by supplying a substantial part, or the whole of the ‘package’. The High Dam at Aswan is the most notable, and now the most controversial example of close co-operation between Egypt and the Soviet Union in economic development.