GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE NEW 4-YEAR AGENDA NEXT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003432

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PGOV ECON PINR KU NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE NEW 4-YEAR AGENDA NEXT
LEGISLATIVE TERM; RELATIONS WITH PARLIAMENT IMPROVING

REF: KUWAIT 2871

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) The new Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State
for Cabinet Affairs, and Minister of State for National
Assembly Affairs, Dr. Ismail Al-Shatti, told the Ambassador
August 22 that the Government would present a new four-year
agenda during the next legislative term. (Note: Parliament
is on recess until October 30. End note.) The agenda will
include a number of large development projects, including
development of Bubiyan and Failaka Islands, the construction
of a new commercial and residential area called Silk City,
and the privatization of Kuwait's ports. Asked about Project
Kuwait, an $8.5 billion plan to develop Kuwait's northern oil
fields, Al-Shatti said he thought it should be a priority,
but noted that the new Minister of Energy was somewhat
hesitant to confront Parliament on it. Al-Shatti said
relations with the Monitor Group, an American consulting firm
advising the Government on the agenda, were "productive" and
the firm was making "substantive contributions." The
Minister also reported that he was recently tasked by the
Amir to streamline the approval process for development
projects to improve efficiency and speed.


2. (C/NF) Al-Shatti said relations between the Government
and Parliament had improved since the elections, a fact he
attributed to the Prime Minister's leadership and the
Government's willingness to support legislation backed by
Parliament, citing as an example the recent passage of a key
electoral reform proposal (reftel). "Our strategy," he
explained, "is that we won't push any legislation (through
Parliament) that doesn't have the support of the majority of
the 50 MPs." Al-Shatti was optimistic about Government
efforts "to cooperate and build a consensus with two
important groups in Parliament": the Islamists and the
liberals. He said increased Government seriousness about
investigating allegations of corruption had also helped
improve relations with Parliament. "We are trying to build
trust and confidence between the Government and the
Parliament, and signal to MPs that we are cooperative and
flexible (to a point)," he stated. Al-Shatti added, however,
that this new flexibility should not be interpreted by
Parliament as weakness by the Government, which would
continue to pursue national priorities.


3. (C/NF) Bio note: Al-Shatti confirmed that he is no longer
an official member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement
(ICM),the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood.
He explained that, per the organization's bylaws, he was
expelled after refusing to resign in May in protest over the
Government's position on electoral reform. Al-Shatti said he
still had "good relations" with ICM figures, but no longer
attended the organization's meetings. The Minister reported
that as part of his new portfolio he heads the "tender and
bidding committee," which plays a lead role in awarding
Government contracts. Al-Shatti was also tasked by the Prime
Minister to investigate MPs' allegations of corruption, many
of which he said were merely rumors.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

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