DEMARCHE DELIVERED: USG CALL FOR DONOR SUPPORT TO

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000109 SIPDIS S/ES-O FOR TFX001 AND NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EAID AEMR KU SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: USG CALL FOR DONOR SUPPORT TO TSUNAMI RELIEF SIPDIS REF: A. KUWAIT 73 ¶B. STATE 959 ¶1. Ambassador delivered reftel demarche to Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on 8 January. The FM noted that Kuwaiti aid was available, but that some had been held up for lack of runway space in the affected area. ¶2. In addition to the USD 10 million previously announced (ref a),Kuwaiti newspapers reported January 8 that the GOK would reschedule hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed by nations stricken by the tsunami. While there are no details on individual debts, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) reported USD 736 million in loans to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. LEBARON