US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1578

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001578 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2014 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, BA 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN ON TIMING OF FORUM FOR FUTURE, GCC, 
G8-REGIONAL MEETINGS 
 
Classified by DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reaons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Ambassador October 16 told Foreign Minister Shaikh 
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa that the Forum for the Future 
(FfF) meetings in Morocco would take place December 10 
(sub-ministerial) and 11 (ministerial).  He noted that 
Bahrain would host the GCC summit in December and suggested 
that the GOB ensure that the timing of the meetings not 
conflict. 
 
2.  (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that the GCC summit would take 
place on December 20 and the GCC Foreign Ministers meeting 
would take place on December 7.  He anticipated that many of 
the ForMins would leave for Morocco directly from Manama.  He 
asked about attendance at the Morocco meetings, noting that 
at the G8 summit at Sea Island, only six non-G8 member states 
were invited, but at the September meetings in New York, a 
much larger number of countries were represented.  He asked 
for any information we had about the program for the Morocco 
sessions. 
 
3.  (C) Al Khalifa stated that during the September 24 FfF 
meeting in New York, he had proposed that Bahrain host the 
2005 FfF meeting.  He said that Egypt would host a meeting on 
January 10 of G8 and Arab Foreign Ministers, and Jordan would 
host an informal session on the margins of the May 2005 World 
Economic Forum meetings at the Dead Sea.  He requested 
confirmation that Bahrain would host the December 2005 FfF 
meetings. 
 
MONROE