In contrast to the guest-workers in West Germany, the guest-workers that arrived in East Germany came mainly from countries allied with the Soviets and the SED used its guest-worker program to build international solidarity among fellow communist governments.
In contrast to the guest-workers in West Germany, the guest-workers that arrived in East Germany came mainly from countries within the Eastern Bloc or from socialist countries worldwide. In this sense, the guest-worker program flew in the face of that of West Germany; the SED used their guest-worker program to reiterate support for fellow communist governments.