AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO KUWAIT ON LONDON CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000185

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA/A, NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ELAB PGOV PREL PINR AF XD KU
SUBJECT: AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO KUWAIT ON LONDON CONFERENCE
AND GOK ASSISTANCE WOES

REF: A. 05 KUWAIT 4624

B. SECSTATE 03627


1. (SBU) Summary: During a January 21 meeting with the
Ambassador on GOK assistance and labor issues, Afghan
Ambassador to Kuwait Yussuf Samad praised the USG for its
ongoing support to Afghanistan; pointed to GOK unwillingness
to re-start assistance absent a solution to old GOA arrears;
acknowledged GOA responsibility to repay its arrears based on
an MOU signed with the GOK in 2003; and noted that the
estimated 10,000 Afghan laborers in Kuwait were mostly
construction workers and traders who work under relatively
favorable conditions. Ambassador reaffirmed the USG's
commitment to Afghanistan and offered the Embassy's continued
support in overcoming the GOK's reluctance to offer new
assistance to Afghanistan. End Summary


2. (SBU) On January 21, Ambassador met with his Afghan
counterpart, Yussuf Samad, to discuss the GOA's efforts to
secure renewed assistance from the GOK and to offer continued
USG support in this regard. Samad thanked the USG for being
"the greatest contributor" in Afghanistan and for the
Embassy's continued support. He pointed to an estimated $15M
in outstanding arrears with the GOK resulting from a 1977
loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development
(KFAED) for a sugar factory in Baghlan, Afghanistan (see ref
A). Ambassador noted ongoing efforts to address Russian debt
claims with Afghanistan as a precondition to resolving other
bilateral GOA debt. Samad explained that the GOK, citing
internal KFAED regulations, "told me very clearly no" to
writing off the arrears. Samad added that the GOA had signed
an MOU with the GOK in 2003 to reschedule the arrears on a
very generous long-term basis but had yet to begin repayment.
(Note: Post was under the impression that the GOA had not
signed the MOU.) Samad accurately noted that the GOK could
still provide grant assistance through the KFAED despite the
arrears.


3. (SBU) According to Samad, the GOK has not provided renewed
assistance to Afghanistan since its $30M grant pledge at the
2002 Tokyo donors conference. He added that it remains
unclear what amount, if any, the GOK pledged at the 2004
Berlin donors conference. Samad said that he and the British
Ambassador to Kuwait personally extended the invitation to
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah to
attend the upcoming London conference. (Note: The Amir's
death on 15 January continues to impact political
developments in Kuwait and could result in a cabinet
reshuffle.) Samad mentioned an upcoming visit to Kuwait by
Afghan President Hamid Karzai before the president's trip to
Denmark (audience with the Queen),Switzerland (Davos Forum),
and the UK (London Conference). (Note: This may not occur;
the GOK has asked as of today that all official visits be
postponed until after the 40-day mourning period.) Per ref
B, Ambassador shared a copy of the USG points to be raised
with the GOK in anticipation of the London conference.
Ambassador offered continued USG support to help secure
renewed GOK assistance for Afghanistan, voicing skepticism
about the possibility of new GOK pledges in London without
resolution of the arrears.


4. (SBU) On the status of Afghan laborers in Kuwait, Samad
proudly noted that Kuwaitis are generally complimentary of
Afghan laborers and that a "very small minority" of the
estimated 10,000 Afghans residing and working (mostly males)
in Kuwait faced problems with employers (e.g., passport
confiscation, harassment). He added that most Afghans in
Kuwait were ethnic Pashtuns, some well established in
business, engineering, and medicine, from the eastern Afghan
provinces (Paktia, Paktika, Khowst) bordering Pakistan.
Samad explained that Afghans came to Kuwait as refugees and
that some continue to arrive illegally through the Iraqi and
Saudi borders in search of work in Kuwait. Samad said that
he urges Afghan expatriates to eschew criminal activities and
"to behave as guests" in Kuwait.

Bio Note
--------------


5. (SBU) Yussuf Samad has been Afghanistan's Ambassador to
Kuwait since 2003. Prior to rejoining the Afghan government,
Samad resided in Falls Church, Virginia and worked as an
international radio broadcaster for VOA's Dari service. From
1962-1981, he served in various capacities in the Afghan
Foreign Ministry and at Afghan Embassies in London and Paris.
He has a B.A. from Kabul University's College of Law and

KUWAIT 00000185 002 OF 002


Political Sciences and attended the Preparatory French High
School at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He
speaks English, Dari-FARSI, Pashto and has oral proficiency
in Arabic. Samad's son, Omar Samad, served as the Afghan
Foreign Ministry spokesman from 2002-2004 and is the current
Afghan Ambassador to Canada.

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