BAHRAIN: DELIVERY OF USG RESPONSES ON PROPOSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000824 SIPDIS THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL ALSO FOR EMBASSY E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2015 TAGS: PARM MARR MASS MOPS KTIA BA SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: DELIVERY OF USG RESPONSES ON PROPOSED CWC HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT REF: A. STATE 103859 ¶B. MANAMA 720 ¶C. STATE 81767 AND PREVIOUS Classified by A/DCM Helen H. Hahn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Pol/Econ chief June 8 delivered reftel demarche on negotiating a Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) host country agreement (HCA) on challenge inspections to MFA Director for International Organization Affairs Ghassan Shaikho. Shaikho said that he was willing to explore the possibility of negotiating an HCA with the U.S., and noted that a Bahraini delegation would be in The Hague for the November CWC review meeting. In response to P/E chief's question, he said that he would welcome a USG team visit to Bahrain either before or after Ramadan, if that was desirable. ¶2. (C) P/E chief passed Shaikho a sample draft HCA to review. Shaikho said he would consult with the Bahrain Defense Force on the proposed text. He requested information on the number of countries with which the U.S. has negotiated HCAs, and how many of them are Arab and GCC countries. He commented that Bahrain would not want to set a precedent in negotiating an HCA, but would be willing to do it if others had already completed agreements with us. MONROE