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September 1962

Decision to Send a Group of Bulgarian Experts to Cuba

This document was made possible with support from Leon Levy Foundation

TO THE SECRETARIATE OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF

THE BULGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

SOFIA

MEMORANDUM

 

From Ivan Prumov - Minister of Agriculture and Ivan Abadzhiev - First Secretary of the Central Committee of Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (DCYU)

 

REGARDING sending agriculture specialists to Republic of Cuba.

 

In March this year a secretary of the CC of DCYU took part in the work of the First Congress of the Union of the Young Cuban communists. In conversation with him, the President of the Union of the Young Cuban communists Joel Iglesias suggested that a group of about 50-100 young specialists in agriculture be sent to Cuba. The hosts would pay for the stay of our specialists in Cuba and we would pay the expenses for their travel.

 

With a letter 2107/22.09.1962 [22 September 1962] the Foreign Ministry advised us that Comrade Konstantin Michev, ambassador of People’s Republic of Bulgaria [to Cuba], confirmed those talks. Comrade Michev had a meeting with [Carlos Rafael] Rodriguez, the Minister of Agriculture of Cuba, and with the Soviet specialists Comrades Titov and Ustinov. It was decided that Bulgaria would send 15-25 specialists in vegetable-growing, 15-20 agronomists, 15-20 young technicians, 15-20 gardeners with more experience, 3 agronomists in vegetation protection, 2-3 engineers in mechanization of agriculture. The offer is for the specialists to go there for one year. They will live under the same conditions as the young Soviet specialists. They will live and work in a State Agrarian Cooperative (SAC) where they will receive lodging and food. Besides, for meeting other personal needs, they (the agronomists with university degree) will receive 120-150 pesos. They ask the specialists to leave [for Cuba] as soon as possible. A ship with the young Soviet specialists will leave in the end of October from Odessa.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Committee of DCYU discussed the offer and they consider sending Bulgarian agricultural specialists to Cuba expedient.

 

In connection with this we propose to the Secretariat of the CC of BCP to

DECIDE:

It assigns to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Committee of DCYU the task to send to Cuba for one year for rendering assistance in the development of agriculture 76 young specialists in agriculture.

[ ... ]

The necessary sum of 68,000 leva for travelling expenses to be provided by the Ministry of Finance.

Ivan Prumov , Minister of Agriculture, and Ivan Abadzhiev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (DCYU) address Cuba’s request for young specialists in agriculture (e.g. agronomists, technicians, gardeners). The Bulgarian government agrees to send specialists who will work and live in a State Agrarian Cooperative. The Ministry of Agriculture and Central Committee of DCYU are responsible to send and assist 76 agriculture specialists to Cuba.



Document Information

Source

Central State Archive of Bulgaria (TsDA), Sofia, Fond 1-B, Opis 6, a.e. 4939; translated by Julia Cherneva, edited by Jordan Baev. Obtained by the Bulgarian Cold War Research Group.

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Original Uploaded Date

2013-03-07

Type

Memorandum

Language

Record ID

116360

Donors

Leon Levy Foundation