US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5183

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 005183 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/ARN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KU, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: (U) JORDAN'S KING ABDULLAH VISITS KUWAIT 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Frank C. Urbancic for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Jordan's King Abdullah II paid a brief 
visit to Kuwait on November 11, meeting with the Amir, Crown 
Prince and PM Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.  During his 
two-hour stay, the King discussed the current situation in 
Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Jordan's bilateral 
relationship with Kuwait.  He also took the opportunity to 
personally thank the GOK for the fuel Kuwait has supplied 
Jordan since March.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Jordanian King Abdullah II used his two-hour 
November 11th visit to Kuwait to reaffirm the strong ties 
between Kuwait and Jordan, according to the Jordanian Embassy 
in Kuwait and local Kuwaiti dailies.  During an interview 
with Kuwaiti Arabic daily al-Rai al-Aam, the King expressed 
his views on the future of US forces in Iraq.  "The Americans 
are pushing ahead with their project in Iraq.  They can't 
leave without a strong Iraqi government and authority being 
formed, chosen by the Iraqi people," he said.  King Abdullah 
also predicted that a federal system of government in Iraq 
would end in failure, "especially if it were built on a 
sectarian and ethnic basis." 
 
3.  (C) Calling the King's visit "normal," the Jordanian 
Embassy in Kuwait told Poloff that the visit focused on 
coordinating the shared policy positions of the GOK and 
Jordan vis-a-vis Palestine and Iraq.  In addition, the 
Embassy confirmed that King Abdullah had extended his thanks 
to Kuwait for its provision of fuel throughout Operation 
Iraqi Freedom.  The Embassy could not confirm if King 
Abdullah had requested that Kuwait continue this supply of 
fuel. 
 
4. (C) Comment:  Jordan enjoys stronger relations with Kuwait 
today than at any other time since the first Gulf War. 
Despite residual bitterness among many Kuwaitis over Jordan's 
support for Saddam Hussein during that conflict, Kuwaiti FM 
Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah frequently 
consults Jordanian FM Marwan Muasher on matters of shared 
concern, and King Abdullah II is personally popular with 
Kuwaitis, unlike his late father. 
URBANCIC