Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KUWAIT3585
2005-08-10 12:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

KUWAIT RESPONSE: ARAB COUNTRY ASSISTANCE TO THE

Tags:  EAID EFIN PREL KU WE GZ 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003585 

SIPDIS

NEA/FO FOR AMONSARRAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2015
TAGS: EAID EFIN PREL KU WE GZ
SUBJECT: KUWAIT RESPONSE: ARAB COUNTRY ASSISTANCE TO THE
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

REF: SECSTATE 146261

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reason 1.4 (b)

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003585

SIPDIS

NEA/FO FOR AMONSARRAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2015
TAGS: EAID EFIN PREL KU WE GZ
SUBJECT: KUWAIT RESPONSE: ARAB COUNTRY ASSISTANCE TO THE
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

REF: SECSTATE 146261

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reason 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Ambassador met with Minister of Foreign Affairs
Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah on August 9 and asked for reftel
data on Kuwaiti aid to the Palestinian Authority. The FM
promised to provide the figures, but said that any future aid
would have to be taken up by the Council of Ministers. (The
Minister directed us to the new Office of Economic Affairs in
the Ministry, but it is not yet up and running. Our normal
MFA interlocutor on Palestinian aid, Under Secretary Khalid
Jarallah, is out of the country until September.)


2. (C) Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED)
Acting Manager of the Palestinian Authority portfolio
Abdullah Al-Musaibih told Econ Officer on August 9 that the
GOK provided $25 million to the Palestinian Authority in 2000
as part of the peace process. This money was supposed to go
towards health and education projects, and was given to the
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). No
other project assistance has been provided by Kuwait to the
PA in the past five years. (Note: KFAED officials have told
us in the past that, under the direction of the GOK, it does
not deal directly with the PA but provides aid through
institutions such as the AFESD. End Note.) KFAED is
primarily in the business of making soft loans, not grants,
and Al-Musaibih said that the PA had recently applied for
loans from KFAED. He said that KFAED staff would have to
approach the Board of Directors about the loan applications,
and he did not expect an answer "anytime soon." He was not
aware of any projects or grants from the GOK planned to
coincide with Israeli withdrawal from Gaza or the West Bank.


3. (C) According to Al-Musaibih, KFAED only handles loans
and grants and does not deal with any budget assistance. He
said that this would be handled directly by the GOK, and
suggested contacting the Ministry of Finance. The Minister
of Finance's Office Director, Ahmed Al-Quwaynum, spoke with
the Minister of Finance on August 10 and told Econ Officer
that, according to the Minister, all GOK aid to the PA goes
through the KFAED, and to contact KFAED Director of
Operations Mr. Fawzi Al-Hunaif.


4. (C) From what we can re-construct from previous email
exchanges regarding Kuwait's Arab League "commitments," $49
million was transferred to the PA before the Algiers AL
Summit, bringing Kuwait's obligation to $140 million. We
have not been able to verify payments since. (Note: The PA
may be a better source of current info.)


5. (SBU) Comment: The Minister of Finance, Bader
Al-Humaidhi, was previously Director General of KFAED for
almost twenty years and is intimately familiar with KFAED
operations. Al-Hunaif is out of the country on vacation, as
is KFAED Deputy Director General for Disbursement, Hisham
Al-Waqayan, and the person normally responsible for the PA
portfolio, Marwan Al-Ghanim. The office staff of Abdulwahab
Al-Bader, the new KFAED Director General, suggested trying to
get this information from him when he returns from a trip to
Bahrain on August 14. Our ability to get straight answers to
these questions in a timely manner is severely impacted by
the absence of key officials. End Comment.

********************************************
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
********************************************
LEBARON