US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT4312

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004312 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2014 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, PHUM, ECON, KU, IZ, EG 
SUBJECT: MUBARAK RUNS INTERFERENCE FOR ABU MAZEN DURING 
VISIT TO KUWAIT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met December 12 with the Egyptian 
Ambassador to Kuwait, Abdel-Rahim Shalaby, to discuss 
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,s December 7-8 visit to 
Kuwait. Shalaby said the meeting covered three GOE concerns: 
support for Mahmoud Abbas, candidacy in upcoming Palestinian 
elections, need for Sunni participation in Iraq,s January 
elections, and encouragement of GOK to increase involvement 
in Sudan to stabilize the Darfur region. The Egyptian 
ambassador also discussed Kuwait,s increasing investment 
role in the Egyptian economy and mentioned a visit of Mrs. 
Mubarak to Kuwait around December 18 to participate in the 
Al-Qurain Festival. (Abu Mazen is meeting GOK officials 
December 13 following his public apology for Palestinian 
support for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.) 
 
Mubarak Stumping for Abu Mazen 
------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) During a December 7 meeting with GOK officials, 
including Amir Shaykh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (whom 
Shalaby described as smiling, without his customary dark 
sunglasses and &exceptionally alert8) and Prime Minister 
Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Mubarak conveyed his 
strong support for Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as the next 
Palestinian president to be chosen in elections scheduled for 
January 9, 2005. Mubarak was against the candidacy of Marwan 
Barghouti, who withdrew from the race on December 12, 
commenting that Barghouti had &burned himself out.8 
Referring to the December 12 fundraising visit to Kuwait by 
Abu Mazen, the Palestinian Minister of Finance, and Speaker 
of the Parliament, Shalaby said the GOK wants to ensure that 
any Kuwaiti financing is spent properly. As prudent 
investors, the Kuwaitis want to know how and where the 
Palestinians will spend their money before contributing. 
Shalaby reported that the GOK was already a proponent of Abu 
Mazen and did not need much convincing from Mubarak to lend 
their support to the Palestinian,s candidacy. 
 
Concern that U.S. Is Siding with Shi,a in Iraq 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
3. (C) Shalaby mentioned that about half of Mubarak,s talks 
with GOK officials centered around Iraq. While the timing of 
the elections did not come up, Shalaby stressed that the GOE 
and GOK were concerned about the elections, legitimacy 
should the Sunni minority not participate in significant 
numbers. Shalaby said that a perceived U.S. pro-Shi,a bias 
in Iraq put Kuwait,s Sunni political leadership in trouble 
with domestic public opinion. Shalaby commented on a personal 
basis that if the U.S. offers gestures to the Iraqi Sunnis, 
they would be grateful. (In his personal view, a two-week 
postponement of elections might be a productive step, but he 
did not support a six-month delay.) Shalaby added that, while 
Egypt does not have a significant Shi,a minority like 
Kuwait, a perceived pro-Shi,a bias is also a problem for 
Egypt. 
 
Kuwait Encouraged to Expand Sudan Involvement to Darfur 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
4. (C) Mubarak provided the GOK a briefing, characterized as 
a &monologue8 by Shalaby, on the situation in Sudan. The 
GOE is keen to protect the territorial integrity of Sudan as 
completion of the peace accord with the South is expected by 
month,s end. Shalaby mentioned that the opposition in Darfur 
is trying to imitate what happened in the south. By garnering 
support of the international community, the Darfur opposition 
became emboldened and intransigent during negotiations. 
Kuwait is the only other Arab country, aside from Egypt, with 
a presence in southern Sudan and has been there for more than 
30 years working through charitable organizations, most 
likely Islamic. Mubarak would like to see greater Kuwaiti 
involvement with the Darfur crisis, seeking financial support 
to work in tandem with Egyptian diplomacy. 
 
Kuwait Overtakes Saudi Arabia as Top Arab Investor in Egypt 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
5. (C) According to Shalaby, Kuwait, with 27% of total Arab 
direct investment, is now the largest Arab investor in Egypt, 
surpassing Saudi Arabia. Current bilateral economic projects 
include a joint petro-chemical project and the development of 
Egyptian natural gas exports to Kuwait. These two 
developments alone will result in a ten-fold increase in 
Egyptian-Kuwaiti bilateral trade ties currently valued at 
$135 million annually. Shalaby cautioned that the talk of big 
new petroleum and gas projects had been going on for some 
time, and he did not expect quick outcomes. The largest 
single investor in Egypt is now Nasser Al-Khorafi, the 
brother of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem 
Al-Khorafi, displacing former front-runner Saudi Prince 
Waleed bin Talal. 
 
Egyptian First Lady to Visit Kuwait 
------------------------------------ 
 
6. (U) Egyptian first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, will arrive in 
Kuwait early next week at the invitation of the Kuwaiti Crown 
Prince,s wife, Shaykha Latifa Al-Sabah. Mrs. Mubarak will be 
the guest of honor at the annual Al-Qurain Arts Festival. 
 
 
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LEBARON