EXH10-56

                   Optical Fiber and Preform Supply Agreement

         This Agreement is made as of November 1, 1996,  between FiberCore Inc.,
a  Nevada  Corporation  with its  principal  place of  business  in  Sturbridge,
Massachusetts  and Middle East Fiber Cable  Company  ("MEFC") with its principle
place of business in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

         WHEREAS, MEFC wishes to have from FCI a firm commitment to sell to it a
set quantity of Optical Preforms and/or Fiber for FIVE (5) years; and

         WHEREAS,  FCI wishes to supply MEFC with a firm FIVE (5) year supply of
Optical Preforms and/or Fiber,

         NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:

                                    ARTICLE 1

                                   Definitions



For the purposes of this Agreement:

i.   FiberCore  ("FCI" shall mean FiberCore  Inc. and its  subsidiary  FiberCore
     Jena GmbH ("FCJ").

ii.  "Optical Fiber" means a waveguide,  in the form of a filament or fiber with
     a glass core  suitable  for use in  communications  including  any  coating
     applied  concentrically around a single filament in the course of drawing a
     preformed  glass blank into such  filament.  The term  "waveguide"  for the
     purpose of this  definition  means a dielectric  transmission  medium whose
     dimensions and boundary  conditions are designed to propagate energy inside
     the guide structure in its lengthwise direction.  The term "communications"
     for the purpose of this definition  shall refer to the  transmission of any
     form of information by the modulation of light waves.

iii. "Preform"  means an optical  blank in a rod from which optical fiber may be
     drawn, suitable for use in the field of optical communications.

iv.  Hereinafter, Optical Preforms and Fiber are the "Products".





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                                    ARTICLE 2

                          Sale and Purchase of Products

2.1      Purchase Commitment: Quantity Changes

MEFC  shall  purchase  from FCI and FCI  shall  sell to MEFC the  quantities  of
Products with the Product mix, as provided in Attachment A hereto subject to FCI
available capacity.  MEFC can, pursuant to the rolling forecasts described under
Section 2.2,  increase or decrease its order of Products  shown on  Attachment A
for any quarter  during the first two years by not more than ten  percent  (10%)
and during years three  through five by not more than 25%,  except as may result
from product mix changes under Section 2.5. The aggregate of such changes cannot
exceed  (either as a reduction or an addition)  ten percent of the total ordered
under  Attachment  A for the first two years of this  Agreement  or twenty  five
percent  for the last three years of this  Agreement,  except as may result from
product mix changes under Section 2.5. FCI will only accept  quantity  increases
under  this  section  only to the  extent  that FCI has  sufficient  uncommitted
production capacity to meet such increases.

2.2      Annual and Quarterly Rolling Forecasts

During the term of this agreement,  on October 1 of each year, MEFC will provide
FCI with a monthly projection of MEFC's  requirements for the following calendar
year.  On the  10th day of the  month  preceding  each  calendar  quarter  (i.e.
December 10, March 10, June 10 and  September  10) MEFC will provide FCI with an
updated  forecast by month for the  following  quarter.  However,  such forecast
cannot vary in quantity  beyond the  permitted  percentages  under  Section 2.1.
Also,  the product mix for the first  month in each such  forecast  shall be the
product  mix FCI ships to MEFC  during  such first  month,  except  that if such
product  differs from  Attachment A, the  provisions of Section 2.6 shall govern
the applicable product mix for such first month.

2.3      Subsequent Year Increases

In addition to any changes under Section 2.1, if requests in writing between FCI
and MEFC that FCI increase the total  quantities  (with or without  changing the
product mix)  contained in  Attachment  A, FCI and MEFC shall  negotiate in good
faith  in  order  to try to reach an  agreement  regarding  the  amount  of such
increase and the prices for such increased amount. However, any such negotiation
shall be subject to the amount of  product,  if any FCI then has  available  for
sale in addition to quantities  in  Attachment  A. These  revised  quarterly and
yearly amounts would then replace the quarterly and yearly amounts on Attachment
A and in Section 3.2.

2.4      Technical Specifications

The  specifications  for the Products  sold  hereunder  are  attached  hereto as
attachment B. As new Products are added to this  Agreement  under Section 2.3 or
2.6, the specifications for such new


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Products will be agreed to by the parties and included on Attachment B.


2.5      Product Mix

MEFC may request in any three month  forecast  under  Section 2.2 that FCI alter
the  Attachment A mixture of the Products for the third month of such  forecast.
If in FCI's opinion its production  rate to produce the requested  amount of the
type of  Products  to which  MEFC  wants to change is  measurably  less than the
production rate to produce the same amount of the type of Products  contained in
Attachment A, then FCI will permit MEFC to order product in an amount  decreased
as FCI deems  appropriate to reflect the lower production rate.  Conversely,  if
the production rate of product is measurably higher, FCI will permit the product
mix change  hereunder  if MEFC agrees to take  product in an amount in an amount
increased as FCI deems appropriate to reflect the higher production rate.

If  MEFC  accepts  FCI's  volume  change,  if  any,  pursuant  to the  preceding
paragraph,  and if FCI and MEFC agree on the  appropriate  price  change and any
required  delivery change resulting from such product mix change,  FCI will only
withhold  its consent to any such  product mix change  request if by agreeing to
any such request it would either have to  renegotiate  a supply  agreement  with
another  customer or it would (in its sole opinion)  have to alter  unreasonably
its own production schedule.  If FCI grants any volume change request hereunder,
this will not serve as a precedent for any future volume change request.

2.6      Most Favored Nations

FCI represents that the total price for the Preforms ordered in Attachment A for
the term (as  calculated  at the per gram rates under  Section  3.2) shall be no
higher than the total term price of any other Preform supply agreement concluded
by FCI (I) of the same supply time lenght as is this Agreement, (ii) of the same
product  mix,  and in  substantially  the  same  percentages,  as  contained  in
Attachment  A, (iii) for Preforms of  comparable  technical  specifications  and
quantity (on a product by product  basis),  and (iv) which  contains  comparable
commercial terms and conditions. If any FCI customer, which has concluded such a
term  agreement,  makes a change under Secitons 2.1, 2.3 or 2.6, the pricing for
the total  amount of each  product  being  ordered for that year  including  the
amount  resulting  from the change  shall be no higher than FCI at that time has
concluded  for the same total  amount of this same type of Preform with any such
customer under similar commercial terms and conditions.

FCI also  represents  that  the FOB FCI  factory  per gram  price of any type of
Preform being ordered hereunder  ("Agreement Preform") shall at the time of such
order be no higher than any other FOB FCI factory  Preform  price of FCI Preform
sold at that time ("Non Contract Preform") for delivery in the year if:

i.   The delivery time of the Non Contract  Preform is the same as the Agreement
     Preform;



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ii.  The Non Contract  Preform is of  comparable  technical  specifications  and
     quantity as the order of the Agreement Preform; and

iii. The  Non  Contact  Preform  is sold  for  comparable  commercial  terms-and
     conditions as the Agreement  preform  (excluding  those  provisions for the
     Agreement Preform which are unique to a long term contract).

If MEFC claims an FCI violation of this  Section,  MEFC and FCI shall agree on a
third party, which shall be given access by FCI (after executing a nondisclosure
agreement)  to required FCI  documents in order to decide the validity of MEFC's
claim.  The  decision  of the third  party as to whether or not there has been a
violation  shall be in writing and shall not contain any named  reference to any
other FCI customer or other FCI proprietary information.  Such decision,  absent
manifest  error,  shall be final.  If a decision is rendered  negotiations  of a
settlement will be initiated.

                                    ARTICLE 3
                         Prices, Penalties and Payments

3.1      Pricing Schedule

i.       Pricing of single-mode fiber (SMF) and single-mode  preform (SMP) shall
         be set  annually  and  shall be 10% less  than  prices  for  equivalent
         specifications  and quantity as delivered in Saudi Arabia, as quoted by
         suppliers in ii below. The market price shall be documented at least 90
         days prior to the start of the subsequent year.

ii.      Pricing for single mode fiber (SMF) or preform  (SMP) shall be based on
         price  quoted/set  by  Corning,  AT&T,  Alcatal  or  similar  reputable
         international suppliers.

iii.     Prices for 1997 are as follows:
                  SM Fiber prices are $58.50
                  SM Preform  prices are $1.289 per gram gross  weight,  without
                  handles on unyielded  basis.  Multimode fiber (MMF) prices are
                  as follows: MMF 625/125 - FDDI grade - $0.175 per meter. These
                  prices will be subject to change based on FCI material costs.


iv.      Prices per above are net on an unyielded basis. Losses due to yield are
         the sole  responsibility  of MEFC.  FCI  takes no  responsibilities  or
         warrants  as to  yield.  This  supersedes  any prior  agreement  to the
         contrary.  FCI  will not be  responsible  for any  losses  due to yield
         incurred  by MEFC and FCI is not  obligated  to provide  any  technical
         support for MEFC's fiber draw production.

v.       Prices are to be reviewed  twice a year or as market  changes  require.
         Prices for all years 1998 and beyond  are for  reference  only.  Actual
         contract prices will be set 90 days prior to beginning of year.


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vi.      Price discounts shall be as provided in i.above,  however,  in no event
         shall  such  discounted  prices  be  less  than  FCI  costs  (including
         overheads) plus 15%.

3.2      Letters of Credit

Prior to the first day of each calendar  quarter of this  Agreement,  MEFC shall
establish with a German bank reasonably  acceptable to FCI an irrevocable letter
of credit for the value of the  immediately  following  quarterly  supply as set
forth in Appendix A including any  adjustments  to the value under Article 2, in
U.S.  Dollars (US$) in favor of FCI/FCJ as the beneficiary  under such letter of
credit.


3.3      Letter of Credit Payment Terms

i.       All Products sold hereunder  shall be paid through  draw-downs  against
         the  letters  of credit  within  thirty  (30) days  after FCI  presents
         complete shipping documents.

ii.      Any  Products  sold  hereunder in excess of the letters of credit total
         shall be paid within thirty (30) days after FCI's FOB shipment.

iii.     If MEFC fails to accept the annual  quantities as set forth in Appendix
         A  including  any  adjustments  to the  value  under  Article 2 for any
         Agreement  year,  except  under the  applicability  of Section 6.5, FCI
         shall be entitled to draw down 50% of the remaining value after 30 days
         of the end of the respective year.

iv.      All letter of credit  payments  and direct  payments  to FCI,  shall be
         settled within forty-five (45) days of the end of the respective fiscal
         year.

3.4      FCI Delivery Penalty

If FCI  fails to  deliver  the  annual  quantities  as set forth in  Appendix  A
including any  adjustments to the value under Article 2 for any Agreement  year,
except  under the  applicability  of Section  6.5, FCI shall issue MEFC a credit
equal to the excess the  difference  in cost which MEFC had to pay  compared  to
FCI's price to purchase the shortfall  from other  sources.  The credit shall be
applicable to 25% of the value of each shipment in the subsequent year under the
credit is fully used.

i.       Force Majeure as defined in 6.5 shall apply as well.

3.5      No Carry backs/Carry forwards

None of the penalties under Section 3.3c) or under Section 3.4 can be calculated
by including  shipments in a prior year or a subsequent year, as the case may be
Shipments of the four  quarterly  letter of credit  periods in any one Agreement
year are to be totaled when calculating whether or not any penalties are due.


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                                    ARTICLE 4

                                     Supply

4.1      Delivery

The  Products  shall be  delivered in amounts and in time periods as provided in
Attachment A and Section 2.2 hereof.

4.2      Claims for Missing or Damaged Products

If it is determined by MEFC and FCI that, for reasons attributable to FCI, there
is damage to or  shortage  in  Products  supplied  by FCI  resulting  from FCI's
handling of such Products  after it was produced by FCI, a return  authorization
shall be made and signed by the parties.  This signed return authorization shall
serve  as the  basis  for  any  claims  by  MEFC  against  FCI  for  FCI to give
appropriate  credit for such  damaged or missing  Products  and to replace  such
Products. MEFC shall only receive such credit or forgiveness for the replacement
Products.

                                    ARTICLE 5

                                Limited Warranty

5.1      Warranty

i.       FCI  warrants  that  at the  time  of  its  delivery  Products  sullied
         hereunder  will  conform to the written  specifications  identified  in
         Attachment B to the Agreement.

ii.      Products which do not meet the foregoing  subsection (a) warranty shall
         be deemed  defective and FCI will give an  appropriate  credit for such
         defective product to and at its expense replace such product; provided:
         (I) that all claims regarding such defective  Products are made by MEFC
         in  writing  to FCI  (with  appropriate  samples),  in  amounts  as FCI
         requests of such claimed  defective  Products  within  ninety (90) days
         after FCI's FOB factory  shipment date of such Products and, unless FCI
         objects to the claim  within  (30) days of receipt of such  claim,  the
         claim shall be deemed accepted by FCI; (ii) that the defective Products
         shall have been maintained by MEFC in accordance with normal  operating
         procedures  as well as any  relevant FCI written  standards  that shall
         have been  delivered to MEFC and that such  product  shall not have had
         any stage of processing  performed on it in cabling such  product,  and
         (iii) that if any repair or  alteration  to the  product has been done,
         this is not a cause of the Products being defective.

5.2      Limitation of Warranty


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FCI  guarantees  and warrants all Products  supplied by it under this  Agreement
only to the extent set forth in this Article 5. THIS GUARANTEE  CONSTITUTES  THE
SOLE  GUARANTEE  OF  PRODUCTS  PROVIDED  BY FCI,  AND IS IN  LIEU  OF ALL  OTHER
WARRANTIES (WHETHER WRITTEN, ORAL, OR IMPLIED), INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY
WARRANTIES OF  MERCHANTABILITY  OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR LIABILITY
FOR ANY SPECIAL OR  CONSEQUENTIAL  DAMAGES  ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF  PRODUCTS.
THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES WHICH EXTEND BEYOND THE DESCRIPTION ON THE FACE HEREOF.

FCI's  liability  to MEFC  whether in  contract or tort or under any other legal
theory arising out of warranties, representations,  instructions or defects from
any cause  shall be limited  exclusively  to  replacing  defective  Products  as
provided in Section 5.1. FCI shall not be liable for special,  consequential  or
indirect  damage  such as the  loss of  capital,  use,  substitute  performance,
production, profits, or claims of customers.

FCI makes no guaranty  against and shall not be liable  regarding  any damage to
Products cabled, installed,  operated or maintained negligently in any manner or
otherwise  not due to FCI's fault.  FCI shall be allowed a reasonable  period to
investigate any MEFC claim for defective Products,  and shall be given access to
relevant records and data for this purpose.

                                    ARTICLE 6

                            MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

6.1      FCI's Bank Account

Unless  and until  changed  by FCI,  all  payments  due FCI from MEFC under this
Agreement  shall be made to the bank  account of  FiberCore  Jena  GmbH,  at the
following address:

                                    BERLINER BANK
                                    FILIALE ERFURT
                                    WEIMARISCHE STRASSE 46
                                    99099 ERFURT, GERMANY

6.2      Address

Formal  communications  under this  Agreement,  except of an  ongoing  technical
nature, shall be in writing addressed as follows:

If to FiberCore Jena GmbH

(By mail)         FiberCore Jena GmbH
                  Goschwitzer Strasse 20


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                  D-07745 Jena-Burgau
                  GERMANY

(By fax)          49-3611-677334
                  Attn:    Lothar Brehm

If to MEFC

(By mail)         P.O. Box 60536
                  Riyadh 11555
                  Saudi Arabia

(By fax)          966-1-478 7973
                  Attn:    Hashem Al Huneidi

For ongoing technical/commercial communications:

If to FCI:        Dr. Dau Wu (Technical)

If to FCI:        Charles DeLuca (Commercial)
                  174 Charlton Road
                  P.O. Box 206
                  Sturbridge, MA 10566 USA

                  Tel.:    1 508 347-7744
                  Fax.:    1 508 347-2778

The  date of such  reports,  payments  and  other  notices  shall be the date of
mailing if sent by certified or registered mail and shall be the date of receipt
if transmitted in any other manner.

6.3      Assignability

Neither  party may assign any of its right or privileges  hereunder  without the
prior written consent of the other and any attempted  assignment  shall be void,
except to a successor in ownership of all or substantially all the assets of the
assigning party's operations and upon condition that such successor shall assume
the  performance  of all  the  terms  and  conditions  of this  Agreement  to be
performed by the assigning party.

6.4      Terminability for Default

If any payment due and payable  under this  Agreement  continues  to be past due
ninety (90) days after  written  notice  thereof from FCI to MEFC the FCI supply
commitment  hereunder  shall become  terminable at FCI's  option.  If there is a
default of any other  material  provision of this  Agreement and such default is
not cured within ninety (90) days after written notice from the non-defaulting

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party, then the non-defaulting party may at its option terminate this Agreement;
provided  that any payment  obligations  that have  already  arisen shall not be
terminated.  The rights granted under this paragraph shall be in addition to any
other rights,  claims or damages which a non-defaulting party hereto may have be
law.

6.5      Force Majeure

If the performance of this Agreement or of any obligation hereunder,  other than
the payment of the  purchase  price for the  Products  delivered  hereunder,  is
prevented,  restricted  or  interfered  with by  reason  of  acts of God,  civil
disorders,  strikes,  governmental act, wars or, without limiting the foregoing,
by any other  cause not  within  the  control  of the  party,  then the party so
affected,  upon giving prompt  notice to the other party,  shall be excused from
such performance to the extent of such prevention,  restriction or interference;
provided  that the  party so  affected  shall use its best  efforts  to avoid or
remove such causes or nonperformance  and shall continue  performance  hereunder
with the utmost dispatch whenever such causes are removed.  If FCI's performance
hereunder is delayed for from three (3) to six (6) months due to force  majeure,
MEFC may purchase  Products  from a third party (and shall be entitled to letter
of credit reductions for such purchases).

If a party's  performance  hereunder is delayed for more than six (6) months due
to force majeure,  the other party shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement
without any further liability to the defaulting party.

6.6      No Waiver

Failure of a party to this  Agreement to terminate  this Agreement or pursue any
other remedy  available to it  following  breach of this  Agreement by the other
party or failure by such other party to comply with any  provision  hereof shall
not be deemed to constitute a waiver by such first mentioned party of any of its
defenses,  rights or causes of action  arising form such or any future breach or
noncompliance of the same or different nature.

6.7      Governing Law

This  Agreement  shall be governed and construed in accordance  with the laws of
the State of Massachusetts except for conflicts of law principles.

6.8      Arbitration

Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement,  which cannot
be settled  between the parties within six (6) months,  shall be finally settled
under the "Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration" of the  International  Chamber
of Commerce by one or more arbitrators  appointed in accordance with such rules.
Any such proceeding  shall beheld in London,  UK. FCI and MEFC hereby agree that
process in connection  therewith  mailed to it at its office by registered mail,
return receipt  requested,  shall be effective and valid to obtain  jurisdiction
over either.


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6.9      Entire Agreement, Headings

This Agreement,  with all Attachments  hereto,  constitutes the entire agreement
between  the  parties  with  respect  to  its  subject  matter.   All  prior  or
contemporaneous oral and written agreements,  memoranda and representations (and
any subsequent purchase order, purchase order confirmation,  or similar document
relating to sales  hereunder  of Products)  are  superseded  by this  Agreement.
Headings used in this Agreement are only for  convenience and are not to be used
in the interpretation of the Agreement.

6.10     Amendments

This Agreement may be amended only by a subsequent  writing signed by authorized
representatives of both parties, indicating an intent to amend the Agreement.

6.11     Taxes

MEFC shall pay, or reimburse FCI, for any sales, use or similar taxes (including
interest  and  penalties  caused by MEFC)  arising  out of any sales of Products
resulting from this Agreement;  except that MEFC shall have no obligation to pay
any such  taxes or  amounts  that are  based  upon  FCI's net  income  from this
Agreement.

6.12     Severability

If any  provision  of this  Agreement  is held  invalid  or  unenforceable,  the
remaining  provisions  shall not be affected  thereby,  and the parties shall in
good faith  attempt to amend this  Agreement to  eliminate  such  invalidity  or
unenforceability.

6.13     Advertising

Each party  hereto  agrees  not to use the name of the other  party in the first
party's advertising  regarding Products without the second party's prior written
consent.

6.14     Export Control

MEFC acknowledges that it is aware that these Products are subject to the Export
Administration  Regulations administered by the country of export, and that such
Products require a validated export license before they can be re-exported.

6.15     Confidentiality

MEFC and FCI agree that all  confidential  commercial and technical  information
provided  hereunder to the other party (which the transmitting  party designates
in writing as being  confidential)  will be kept  confidential  by the receiving
party (using the same  standard of care as the  receiving  party uses to protect
its own similar confidential information); and shall not be sold to or disclosed
in any other

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manner to any third party by the receiving  party for a period of five (5) years
commencing on the date when the transmitting  party delivers such information to
the receiving party. The preceding sentence shall not apply to:

a.   Information  which at the time of  disclosure  hereunder  is in the  public
     domain;

b.   Information  which after  disclosure  hereunder  is  published or otherwise
     becomes part of the public domain  through no fault of the receiving  party
     but only after it is published or comes into the public domain;

c.   Information  which the receiving party can document through written records
     as  having  been in its  possession  at the time of its  disclosure  to the
     receiving party hereunder; and

d.   Information  which has been or may in the future be  disclosed or delivered
     to the receiving party by any third party which does not have an obligation
     to the transmitting party to refrain from disclosing such information.

The obligations  under this paragraph 6.15 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement for any cause whatsoever.






















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The parties agree that FCI pricing information  contained herein, as well as the
other provisions of this Agreement, are confidential and may not be disclosed by
MEFC to any third party.

6.16     Preference for Additional Requested Supply

If MEFC decides  that it needs to purchase  Products for delivery in addition to
the amounts it is able to purchase under this Agreement  submit to FCI a request
for such additional  amount. If FCI determines at that time that it has adequate
available capacity for such requested additional  deliveries,  MEFC shall have a
first  preference  to purchase  such  additional  Products for a price and other
commercial  terms and conditions  negotiated at that time.  However,  the amount
that MEFC may purchase on such preferential  basis shall be proportionate to all
the requests for preferential  additional supplies,  from customers with similar
five year  supply  agreements,  which  have not been  resolved  at the time of a
request  hereunder.  Such proportion  shall be the total value of the applicable
years older under  Attachment A in this  Agreement  compared to such total value
under all the other agreements  requesting  preferential  additional supplies at
this same time.

                                    ARTICLE 7

                                      TERM

7.1      Time Periods of Deliveries

This Agreement  shall be for  deliveries of Products,  in quantities as provided
hereunder, from January 1, 1997 through December 31, 2001.

****

The parties  have caused this  Agreement  to be signed by their duly  authorized
representatives in a manner legally binding upon the parties.

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FiberCore, Inc.

Signature /s/ Charles Deluca

Date March 13, 1997

MID EAST FIBER CABLES

By General Manager

Signature                  /s/ Hashem Al-Henaidi

Date:                      March 13, 1997




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