GOK REITERATES CALL FOR US-KUWAIT JOINT COMMISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004059 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI SWALKER, LONDON FOR LTSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL KU SUBJECT: GOK REITERATES CALL FOR US-KUWAIT JOINT COMMISSION REF: A. SECSTATE 142010 ¶B. KUWAIT 4050 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on September 14 to discuss the GOK's hurricane Katrina assistance offer (ref B), MFA's Acting Under-Secretary Khaled Al-Babtain took the opportunity to reiterate the GOK's interest in establishing a "Joint Commission" with the United States to formalize bilateral discussions on the full spectrum of U.S./Kuwait economic and political relations. The Ambassador expressed support for the idea in principle, but cautioned about the sustainability of formal senior-level dialogues, urging that key GOK ministers not wait for formal invitations and visit the U.S. on a regular basis to maintain dialogue on bilateral issues. Al-Babtain noted that while the GOK had no specific model in mind, it considered the Joint Commission to be an important mechanism for sustaining dialogue, follow-up and review on key bilateral areas of cooperation. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador reminded Al-Babtain of the Kuwaiti Ambassador's July 29 meeting with NEA DAS Gordon Gray (reftel A) during which Amb. Salim agreed to provide a paper to flesh out the Kuwaiti proposal and give us something concrete to which to respond. Al-Babtain agreed that the GOK would provide a paper. ********************************************* 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 ********************************************* LEBARON