(C) FONMIN ON ARAB LEAGUE REFORM AND GME

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000760 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/ARN, NEA/ENA, NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2014 TAGS: PREL XF KU SUBJECT: (C) FONMIN ON ARAB LEAGUE REFORM AND GME Classified By: AMB. RICHARD H. JONES; REASON 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Ambassador met March 6 with Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed al-Sabah (other topics septels). During the course of the meeting, the Ambassador asked about the prospects for Arab League reform, in light of the upcoming summit and the March 1 Ministerial in Cairo. The Minister laughed and said "it's like when Syria is unhappy, it changes Lebanon's government: everybody, the Americans, the Germans, is proposing changes to the political landscape in the Arab world, so how do the Arabs respond? They change the Arab League." He then confided that at the March 29 Arab League Summit, the leaders would decide to mandate the Foreign Ministers to review the League's Charter. This was just "kicking the can down the road." ¶2. (C) "We hear about the Greater Middle East Initiative," continued Dr. Mohammed, "but nobody has seen a document; it's like the invisible friend Harvey." Nonetheless, at the Cairo Ministerial, Egypt and Jordan submitted "interesting" papers responding to GME. The Ministers did not/not discuss the papers in Cairo. JONES