MANY KUWAITI MINISTRIES ESSENTIALLY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003180 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV AMGT ECON ELAB PREL KU SUBJECT: MANY KUWAITI MINISTRIES ESSENTIALLY CLOSED FOR BUSINESS GOK officials have once again left the country en masse for the summer. One Arabic language daily estimated July 18 that fifty percent of GOK employees are on leave while the other half spend their working hours planning their own vacations. GOK vacancies are taking a toll on day-to-day Embassy operations and severely limiting Post's ability to conduct business as usual. Phone calls to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) often go unanswered and messages unreturned. Even mundane correspondence with the MFA is sometimes returned for alleged improper formatting, indicating the inexperience of new officials with standard operating procedures. Since July 2, twenty-four GSO Diplomatic Notes requesting clearances for in- bound shipments have gone unanswered resulting not only in a warehouse back-up but also in additional storage fees. Post will raise the logjam with senior MFA officials. ********************************************* Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access the site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* TUELLER