BAHRAIN ON TIMING OF FORUM FOR FUTURE, GCC,

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001578

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2014
TAGS: PREL ECON BA
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN ON TIMING OF FORUM FOR FUTURE, GCC,
G8-REGIONAL MEETINGS

Classified by DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reaons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Ambassador October 16 told Foreign Minister Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa that the Forum for the Future
(FfF) meetings in Morocco would take place December 10
(sub-ministerial) and 11 (ministerial). He noted that
Bahrain would host the GCC summit in December and suggested
that the GOB ensure that the timing of the meetings not
conflict.


2. (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that the GCC summit would take
place on December 20 and the GCC Foreign Ministers meeting
would take place on December 7. He anticipated that many of
the ForMins would leave for Morocco directly from Manama. He
asked about attendance at the Morocco meetings, noting that
at the G8 summit at Sea Island, only six non-G8 member states
were invited, but at the September meetings in New York, a
much larger number of countries were represented. He asked
for any information we had about the program for the Morocco
sessions.


3. (C) Al Khalifa stated that during the September 24 FfF
meeting in New York, he had proposed that Bahrain host the
2005 FfF meeting. He said that Egypt would host a meeting on
January 10 of G8 and Arab Foreign Ministers, and Jordan would
host an informal session on the margins of the May 2005 World
Economic Forum meetings at the Dead Sea. He requested
confirmation that Bahrain would host the December 2005 FfF
meetings.

MONROE