BAHRAIN: ENCOURAGING ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES TO

UNCLAS MANAMA 000298 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NP/CBM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MNUC KSCA ETTC TSPA BA MTCRE SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: ENCOURAGING ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES TO SUBSCRIBE TO HCOC REF: STATE 31433 Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) PolEcon chief February 28 delivered reftel demarche on encouraging additional countries to subscribe to the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC) to MFA Director for Bilateral Affairs Dhafer Al Umran. Al Umran wondered aloud why the other GCC countries and Egypt had not signed up for the HCOC, but took note that Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman had voted in favor of the 2004 UNGA resolution. He said that he would look into Bahrain's position on subscribing to the HCOC, commenting that the HCOC is the type of group Bahrain should join. MONROE