NATO MEMBER COUNTRIES IN KUWAIT OUTLINE PROGRAM

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003091 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR NEA/ARPI AND EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PREL PGOV KU NATO SUBJECT: NATO MEMBER COUNTRIES IN KUWAIT OUTLINE PROGRAM FOR NATO-KUWAITI COOPERATION REF: A. KUWAIT 1450 ¶B. KUWAIT 1175 ¶C. 04 KUWAIT 4369 ¶1. (SBU) Italian Ambassador to Kuwait Vincenzo Prati hosted July 6 the first meeting of NATO member countries in Kuwait, providing a general introduction to the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and explaining the role of NATO Contact Point Embassies (CPEs). The Italian Embassy is the CPE for Kuwait. The meeting was largely organizational in nature with attendees agreeing to meet bi-monthly and identifying Shaykh Thamer Al-Sabah, Office Manager for National Security Bureau President Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, as the primary GOK contact. As CPE, the Italian Ambassador will meet in the coming weeks with Foreign and Defense ministries officials, Members of Parliament, other senior GOK representatives, the media, NGOs, and think tanks to brief them on NATO cooperation with Kuwait. He said he would raise with them the importance of concluding Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) for troop transit of Kuwait and solicit their views on GCC cooperation with NATO. ¶2. (SBU) Attendees made several suggestions to improve the CPE program. The Belgian Ambassador proposed organizing a committee to maintain regular contact with Kuwaiti interlocutors. The British DATT recommend briefing GCC ambassadors in Kuwait on NATO-provided training for Iraqi security forces such as operating the Military Staff College. The German Charge called for a NATO familiarization tour of the GCC. The Turkish Ambassador offered Turkey, as a Muslim country, as a facilitator in the NATO-GCC dialogue. Post Charge noted that Kuwaiti interest in NATO activities exceeded that of neighboring countries, but stressed the importance of identifying and responding to Kuwaiti wants and needs such as training in consequence management, border control, and counterterrorism (refs a and c). He further commented that an active relationship with Kuwait would likely spark the interest of other GCC countries in NATO-GCC cooperation. ********************************************* 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 ********************************************* TUELLER