US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3180

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003180 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, AMGT, ECON, ELAB, PREL, KU 
SUBJECT:  MANY KUWAITI MINISTRIES ESSENTIALLY 
CLOSED FOR BUSINESS 
 
 
GOK officials have once again left the country en 
masse for the summer.  One Arabic language daily 
estimated July 18 that fifty percent of GOK 
employees are on leave while the other half spend 
their working hours planning their own vacations. 
GOK vacancies are taking a toll on day-to-day 
Embassy operations and severely limiting Post's 
ability to conduct business as usual.  Phone calls 
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) often go 
unanswered and messages unreturned.  Even mundane 
correspondence with the MFA is sometimes returned 
for alleged improper formatting, indicating the 
inexperience of new officials with standard 
operating procedures.  Since July 2, twenty-four 
GSO Diplomatic Notes requesting clearances for in- 
bound shipments have gone unanswered resulting not 
only in a warehouse back-up but also in additional 
storage fees.  Post will raise the logjam with 
senior MFA officials. 
 
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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access the site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
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TUELLER