KUWAITI SECURITY ADVISOR TO SEE DEPUTY NSA HADLEY;

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004106 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, INR-B E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014 TAGS: PREL PINR KU IZ BA NATO SUBJECT: KUWAITI SECURITY ADVISOR TO SEE DEPUTY NSA HADLEY; DISCUSSES NATO TRIP, IRAN, REGIONAL SECURITY REF: A. USNATO 1064 ¶B. KUWAIT 3984 Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. Biographical information included; please see para 7. ¶2. (C) Summary: Kuwaiti National Security Advisor Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah confirmed with DCM on September 29 that he will meet with Deputy NSA and NSA designate Stephen Hadley on Saturday, December 4, at 1500, on the sidelines of the IISS Gulf Dialogue Conference in Bahrain. The two discussed possible topics of conversation, including Iraq, counterterrorism cooperation, Iran and the peace process. End Summary. ¶3. (C) Shaykh Sabah, who had just returned from Brussels, began by noting that he had had a very productive visit with the USNATO Charge while there. He said Kuwait hoped to bolster counterterrorism cooperation through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ref a). ¶4. (C) On Iraq, Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled said Iraq's neighbors had "a shared interest and responsibility" to ensure the success of the political process there. He said Kuwait had noted a series of positive developments regarding Iraq (i.e. the Sharm El Sheikh conference and the Paris Club debt forgiveness) and was urging Iraq's Sunni population to participate in the upcoming elections. ¶5. (C) Sabah Al-Khaled said Iran seemed to have changed its tone after the U.S. elections and had agreed to host a meeting of neighboring Interior Ministers in Tehran on November 30 to discuss Iraq's borders (ref b). He said Iranian FM Kamal Kharazi had told Kuwaiti FM Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah during the Sharm El Sheikh conference that it would not object to a U.N.-led Multinational Force in Iraq and was further ready to assist in training Iraqi security forces. Sabah confirmed that Kuwaiti Minister of Interior Shaykh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah will attend the Tehran meeting. ¶6. (C) On the Arab-Israeli peace process, Sabah Al-Khaled said increased attention to solving this conflict would ease pressure on Kuwait, as a moderate in the region. He said Kuwait would host former PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas during the first half of December, as part of Abbas' planned tour of the Gulf. ¶7. (C) Biographical Information: Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah serves as the President of the National Security Bureau (also referred to as the National Security Council) and is Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed,s de facto National Security Advisor, a position that allows him a substantial amount of access to the PM. He previously served as a diplomat at the U.N. and was Kuwait's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled hails from the Hamad branch of the Sabah family. His brother, MG Ahmed Al-Khaled, is the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces and his cousin is current Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Shaykh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON