AMBASSADOR RAISES TRADE, TERROR FINANCING, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003920 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EB/ESC/TFS, TREASURY FOR KRISTEN HECHT, STATE PASS USTR FOR BURKHEAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2011 TAGS: ECON EPET KU PGOV PREL PTER KTFN SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RAISES TRADE, TERROR FINANCING, AND REFINERY INVESTMENT WITH AMIR'S ECONOMIC ADVISOR REF: A. KUWAIT 3751 ¶B. KUWAIT 3718 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) During a September 30 meeting with the Amir's Economic Advisor Dr. Yousef Al-Ebraheem, the Ambassador raised the following issues: -- Amir's Visit to Washington: Al-Ebraheem told the Ambassador the Amir was very pleased with his early September visit to Washington and with his warm welcome by the President and USG officials. He said the Amir was pleased that the U.S. had released two Kuwaiti detainees from Guantanamo immediately after the visit, although he certainly would have liked to see the other Kuwaitis transferred as well. The Amir had found substantial common ground with the U.S. on Iraq. -- Free Trade and TIFA: The Ambassador told Al-Ebraheem that the talks between the Kuwaiti and US delegations during the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meetings on September 5 in Washington were substantive and useful. Despite the progress, however, the U.S. and Kuwait should be realistic about prospects for negotiations on a free trade agreement. The TIFA would likely provide the framework for our trade dialogue for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the Ambassador said the U.S. and Kuwait should continue to make progress in the coming months and maintain the momentum generated by the TIFA round. Al-Ebraheem said he hoped Assistant USTR Donnelly would visit Kuwait in the near future. He said the Council of Ministers may assign a cabinet-level sub-committee to give more weight and staff resources to the TIFA/FTA process. -- Terror Financing: The Ambassador urged the GOK to continue efforts to curb terrorism financing through Kuwait charities. While praising Kuwaiti banks for their efforts in tracking suspicious currency transactions, the Ambassador said the disposition of monies once outside of Kuwait remained a problem, as in the case of the Revival of the Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS),whose activities in Bangladesh, Albania, and Bosnia were of particular concern. -- Kuwaiti Refinery Investment: Drawing on his conversation with CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) Hani Hussein on September 17 (Ref A),the Ambassador said we would welcome Kuwaiti investment in an oil refinery in the U.S. The Ambassador hoped Hussein or other appropriate officials would accept Energy Secretary Bodman's invitation to visit Washington this fall to explore ideas further. Al-Ebraheem said he had heard some misgivings about the locations under consideration but said he would encourage the KPC visit. -- Project Kuwait: The Ambassador said he had heard a great deal of skepticism about prospects for Project Kuwait the $8.5 billion project for international companies to develop Kuwait's northern oil fields (Ref B). What were the prospects for parliamentary consideration? Al-Ebraheem said prospects were indeed mixed, but with the government's majority in parliament, it was not impossible. Pushing it forward would be tough, he said, since the media and some opposition elements would speak against it. But "rational people," Al-Ebraheem said, believe we need the project as soon as possible, and see this period as a window of opportunity to make progress. The Ambassador stressed the project would need to be profitable in order to generate investor interest. -------------- Bio Note -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Dr. Yousef Hamad Al-Ebraheem became the Economic Advisor to Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah in 2003, when the current Amir was Prime Minister. Dr. Al-Ebraheem served previously as Minister of Finance, Minister of Planning, and Minister of Education. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Claremont Graduate School in 1984 and was a visiting scholar in the Economics Department at Stanford from 1988-89. At various times in his career, Dr. Al-Ebraheem has served as Chairman of the Board of the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Kuwait Fund, and the Public Institute for Social Security. He has taught economics at Kuwait University and was the University's Dean of Administrative Sciences from 1995-1999. KUWAIT 00003920 002 OF 002 Dr. Al-Ebraheem was also posted to the Kuwait Embassy in Washington, D.C,. where he served as Cultural Counselor from 1993-1995. ******************************************** For more Embassy Kuwait reporting, see: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Or Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ******************************************** LeBaron