US embassy cable - 03AMMAN1426

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

Identifier:	03AMMAN1426
Wikileaks:	View 03AMMAN1426 at Wikileaks.org
Origin:	Embassy Amman
Created:	2003-03-10 15:29:00
Classification:	CONFIDENTIAL
Tags:	EFIN KU JO
Redacted:	This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001426 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2008 
TAGS: EFIN, KU, JO 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO JORDAN 
 
REF: AMMAN 1412 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM.  REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1.  (c)  Further to phone and email conversations between 
Ambassadors Jones and Gnehm, a March 10 meeting between the 
Ambassador and Prime Minister shed some light on the apparent 
misunderstanding between the Kuwaitis and Jordanians over the 
$100 million Kuwait had offered to deposit in the Jordanian 
central bank.  PM Abul Ragheb showed the Ambassador a letter 
from the director of the Kuwait Investment Authority offering 
to make such a deposit on behalf of the Kuwaiti government 
and setting the financial conditions, including a one year 
term for the deposit and an interest rate at 1.75 percentage 
points over LIBOR. 
 
2.  (c)  The Prime Minister said that since such conditions 
amounted to a commercial debt that Jordan would have to pay 
back quickly, he would not have the ability to freely use the 
money.  Thus, he had not authorized acceptance of the 
deposit.  He said he instructed Foreign Minister Muasher, who 
is currently visiting Kuwait (reftel), to ask that the 
deposit be turned into a grant or a long-term loan at 
concessional interest rates (he said 25 years at 0.25% 
interest).  We should know more when Muasher returns to Amman. 
GNEHM