US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT3465

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003465 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP BERNS, INR KIRSCH, S/CT MILLER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI FM SAYS FUEL ISSUE RESOLVED; DRIVER ISSUE 
PENDING 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 3391 
     B. USUN 2145 
     C. PARTO 11 
     D. KUWAIT 3262 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron.  Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  In a 50-minute meeting on October 4, 
Ambassador and Kuwaiti FM Dr. Mohammed committed to continued 
fuel for U.S. forces in Iraq, to be supplied at "close to 
zero" cost.  The FM said that signing of a contract was a 
necessary political/legal formality and asked that U.S. team 
be sent.  On the issue of Kuwait's ban on Filipino and Indian 
drivers crossing into Kuwait, he said Kuwait advised India of 
the economic ramifications of a ban on the travel of their 
nationals to Iraq and expected the GOI and other countries 
with travel bans would soon come around.  The GOK was not 
ready to unilaterally remove the Kuwaiti restrictions on 
Indian and Filipino drivers.  He was complimentary of BMENA 
meetings in New York and applauded the U.S. for modulating 
its approach on reform.  He said Kuwait looked forward to the 
Cairo conference of Iraqi neighbors and welcomed U.S. input 
on conference goals and objectives.  Dr. Mohammed did not 
offer any comment on rumors of leadership changes in Kuwait. 
(An exchange on counterterrorism is reported separately.) 
End Summary. 
 
Fuel to Flow 
------------ 
 
2.  (S)  Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah 
Al-Salem Al-Sabah opened the meeting by reviewing his 
September 23 meeting with the Secretary on the margins of the 
UNGA.  Regarding fuel for coalition forces in Iraq, Dr. 
Mohammed said he explained to the Secretary that Kuwait's 
request for a contract was a legal, constitutional 
requirement.   Absent an agreement, there is no legal 
umbrella for the provision of fuel for use by U.S. forces 
outside of Kuwait, a situation that exposes the GOK to 
criticism from the National Assembly.  Dr. Mohammed 
emphasized the GOK does not want the bilateral relationship 
subject to parliamentary debate.  As a result, the GOK 
requested a contract covering three elements:  quantity of 
fuel, duration of GOK fuel supply to coalition forces, and 
cost.  He said the matter was legal, not financial, and that 
the fuel cost should be "close to zero."  He said the Council 
of Ministers had addressed the matter October 3 and that the 
Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington would be instructed to convey 
this message in Washington.  He also welcomed the visit of a 
U.S. delegation to finalize the agreement. The Ambassador 
thanked Dr. Mohammed for the GOK's generosity and 
flexibility, and said a delegation would visit as soon as 
possible. 
 
Driver Issue Still Floating 
--------------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Turning to another matter affecting coalition 
operations in Iraq, the Ambassador asked Dr. Mohammed for 
clarification of the GOK's position on travel bans to Iraq of 
Indian, Nepali, and Filipino drivers.  The Ambassador said 
the Embassy understood from the MFA that the GOK had decided 
not to enforce the ban, yet this decision had not apparently 
been taken at the level of the Prime Minister and 
communicated to Ministry of Interior personnel at border 
crossings.  Dr. Mohammed noted that China recently requested 
that the GOK prevent its nationals from crossing the border 
into Iraq, and India intended to begin annotating passports 
to make them invalid for entry into Iraq.  Dr. Mohammed 
commented that the matter was complex; Kuwait needed to make 
a good faith effort to carry out requests from other 
governments since it had previously requested India and 
Syria, for example, to enforce selective travel bans on 
Kuwaiti nationals.  (Note: Press reports in Kuwait on Monday 
indicated that the Syrians had picked up some Kuwaitis 
attempting to cross into Iraq.)  Nevertheless, the FM said he 
raised the issue with Indian FM Natwar Singh in New York, 
stressing that ample security measures are in place and that 
in the end, Indian families would suffer from the lack of 
income.  Playing to regional sensitivities, he told the 
Indian FM that it would be unfortunate if Bangladeshis, Sri 
Lankans, and Africans took all the jobs currently held by 
Indian nationals.  He felt the GOI would likely reconsider 
its position and believed that explaining the security 
measures in place to the involved governments would help them 
to change policies driven by domestic politics.  Dr. Mohammed 
also suggested that the companies involved hire Iraqis when 
possible.  (Comment: The GOK wants some cover from the Indian 
and Philippine Governments before ending its restrictions. 
Meanwhile Kuwaiti transport companies may be making 
arrangements for other drivers.) 
 
BMENA Positive 
-------------- 
 
4.  (U)  Dr. Mohammed praised the BMENA meeting in New York 
saying the evolving U.S. approach allowed participating 
countries to claim ownership of their reform efforts.  He 
said countries were off to a good start and the GOK looked 
forward to future meetings.  He expressed regret that Lebanon 
did not take part in the session on BMENA. 
 
The Cairo Conference? 
--------------------- 
 
5. (SBU)  He said he welcomed information on U.S. goals for 
the Cairo conference, explaining that other countries looked 
to Kuwait, as GCC chair and the first country to invite Iraq 
to a regional conference, for guidance.  He wanted to be on 
the same page as the U.S.  Ambassador told the FM that we 
would pass on any additional information that is available 
and endeavor to consult with Kuwait as the planning develops. 
 
Border MOU 
---------- 
6.  (SBU)  Ambassador pressed for conclusion of the MOU under 
negotiation on Kuwait/Iraq border modalities. Dr. Mohammed 
promised to speak to the Minister of Interior to try to get 
action on the draft, agreeing that it offered advantages to 
both the U.S. and Kuwait. 
 
Other Issues 
------------ 
 
7.  (U) The Ambassador asked that Kuwait do everything 
possible to make sure that coalition ships were not charged 
port expenses, as had been previously agreed, and mentioned 
current case of a Ukrainian ship that had been charged.  The 
Ambassador said that he looked forward to pursuing the 
objectives of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement 
with the Minister of Commerce and others.  Ambassador noted 
that the discussions about the release of a Kuwaiti detained 
at Guantanamo are proceeding in Washington, including some 
consideration of Kuwait's request for a second citizen.  The 
FM did not react (at all) when asked whether he wanted to 
comment on the reports of possible leadership shifts in 
Kuwait. 
 
8. (U)  Baghdad:  Minimize considered. 
LeBaron