DISCUSSIONS WITH BAHRAIN REGARDING CONCLUSION OF A

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000116

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2016
TAGS: PARM PREL MARR BA BILAT
SUBJECT: DISCUSSIONS WITH BAHRAIN REGARDING CONCLUSION OF A
CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC) HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT
(HCA)

Classified by DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) On December 11, 2005, a U.S. delegation led by OSD
Director for Nonproliferation Policy Dr. David Cooper met
with Bahraini officials to work towards conclusion of a Host
Country Agreement. Due to the Bahraini officials' apparent
lack of familiarity with CWC challenge inspection procedures
and provisions, including the purpose and intent of the HCA,
the U.S. delegation's efforts to conduct a line-by-line
review of the text (with hopes of achieving an ad ref
agreement with Bahrain) were resisted by Bahraini officials.
Following a thorough explanation of the HCA, the senior MFA
official participating in the session said he believed that
Bahrain could "work something" to conclude an agreement with
the U.S. End Summary.

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BAHRAINI COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
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2. (C) Much of the time available to conclude the agreement
was spent explaining in detail to the Bahraini delegation the
purpose and intent of the agreement, as well as Article IX of
the CWC, the CWC's challenge inspection provisions, and the
relevance of the HCA to a challenge inspection venue.
Bahrain's specific questions and comments focused on:

(a) Sovereignty concerns and implications if a
challenge inspection is directed against U.S. assets in
Bahrain. In response, the U.S. delegation made reference to
Part II of the Verification Annex, para. 19, which
contemplates situations in which facilities or assets of an
inspected State Party are located in the territory of a Host
State Party. The U.S. delegation also noted the provisions
regarding sovereignty in the HCA.

(b) Procedures for concluding the agreement. The U.S.
noted that it was flexible in its approach, stating that the
U.S. Ambassador could sign for the U.S. with Bahrain choosing
any appropriate counterpart to sign on its behalf.

(c) Inquiries as to whether other Gulf Countries were
negotiating HCAs with the U.S. The U.S. explained that the
agreements are negotiated in confidence and such confidence
must be respected. The U.S. also noted that it was visiting
other countries in the region and that other negotiations
were in more mature stages. The U.S. also pointed out that
other countries besides the U.S. were seeking to negotiate
HCAs.


4. (C) Bahrain's delegation stated that it was satisfied
with the answers provided to them by the U.S. delegation and
noted that it would study the proposed HCA text further.
Bahraini officials said they would inform the United States
of its review and believed that it could "work something" to
conclude an agreement with the U.S.


5. (U) The Bahraini delegation included:

a. Mr. Ghassan Shaikho, MFA.
b. Brigadier Yusuf Manalah, MOD.
c. Mr. Fouad Al Moawadah, MFA.
d. Ms. Fatima Al Dhaen, MFA.


6. (U) The U.S. delegation included:

a. Dr. David Cooper, Director, Nonproliferation Policy,
International Security Policy, OASD.
b. COL Rick Smart, Special Assistant & Senior Policy
Analyst, Nonproliferation Policy for Chemical and Biological
Weapons.
c. Dr. Deborah Ozga, J5 (WTO),Joint Staff.
d. Ms. Christine Choi, DoD Office of General Counsel,
International Affairs.
e. Embassy Manama Pol/Econ Chief.

MONROE