US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5343

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 005343 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, SOCI, PHUM, KWMN, KU 
SUBJECT: (C) SHAYKH SABAH'S AMBITIOUS AGENDA 
 
Classified By: CDA Frank C. Urbancic for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Poloffs met with Senior Adviser to the Prime 
Minister and former GCC Secretary General Abdullah Bishara on 
November 19.  Amongst other topics (septel), Bishara 
described an ambitious agenda Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah 
Al-Ahmed hopes to implement in the near-term.  End Summary. 
 
2, (C) Prime Minister's Adviser Abdullah Bishara told Poloffs 
during their November 19 meeting that Prime Minister Shaykh 
Sabah Al-Ahmed has ambitious plans for domestic reforms, and 
is "determined" to see them enacted.  Characterizing Kuwait 
as a  society "divided" since the 1980's into tribalist 
(conservative) and urban (liberal) elements, Bishara, a 
definite liberal, claimed the Prime Minister has embarked on 
a new political offensive aimed at curbing the influence of 
Bedouin tribal elements and modernizing Kuwait. 
 
(U) THE PLATFORM 
---------------- 
 
3. (C) Bishara said the GOK has developed its domestic 
political agenda around the following major issues, all of 
which he predicts will be contentious:  womens' political 
rights, reducing the number of electoral districts from 25 to 
10 (diluting tribal influence and making effective 
vote-buying more difficult); privatization (which the less 
edcuated/skilled tribalists fear will entail large-scale job 
losses); opening the oil sector to foreign investment; 
reducing the level of GOK-provided subsidies (known in Kuwait 
as 'rationalization of expenditures'); dismantling of the 
welfare state; allowing for private universities; increasing 
fees charged for private use of public lands; and 
implementing taxes on road usage. 
 
4. (C) Bishara said Shaykh Sabah hopes to revitalize Kuwait 
as a "vanguard of originality" (a reference to Kuwait's 
tradition of openness and free-wheeling parliament), and has 
chosen Ministers who believe so strongly in the GOK platform 
that they are willing to endure the fierce political battles 
which will ensue as the cabinet attempts to push these 
changes through the National Assembly.  He acknowledged that 
Energy Minister Shaykh Ahmed al-Fahad, a nephew of the Amir 
and the PM, has strong ties to tribalists and Islamists, but 
claimed Shaykh Ahmed is a consummate politician, who tailors 
his pitch to various audiences and is fully on board with 
Shaykh Sabah's program. 
 
5. (C) Bishara said the GOK strategy is to start by opening 
the oil sector to foreign investment, given the pressing need 
for foreign up-to-date technology.  Next on the list, in 
descending order, are privatization, education, womens' 
issues, and subsidy reduction.  Electoral redistricting can 
wait: the next parliamentary elections are due in 2007. 
 
6. (C) Comment: An informed and influential member of 
Kuwait's political elite, Bishara was at pains to express 
that PM Shaykh Sabah and his team are committed to 
modernizing/re-energizing Kuwait, and to convey optimism 
despite the certain opposition of Islamists and other 
conservatives.  Success is not assured, however, because the 
conservatives are also motivated, well financed and committed 
to their own agenda. 
URBANCIC