KUWAIT FM IN COMOROS TO DISCUSS INVESTMENT

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000136

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/FO AND NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EINV EAID KU CN
SUBJECT: KUWAIT FM IN COMOROS TO DISCUSS INVESTMENT


1. SUMMARY: Kuwait's Foreign Minister visited the Union of the
Comoros February 16-17 to meet Union President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi
and to discuss Kuwaiti investments. END SUMMARY.


2. Mohamed Mohamed Al-Sharji, Kuwait's Ambassador in Cairo
accredited to the Comoros, told EmbOff that Kuwaiti Foreign Minister
Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salim Al Sabah was welcomed by thousands of
Comorans in the northernmost tip of Grande Comore, site of a planned
"tourist village" by Kuwaiti investors. On his first visit to this
tiny Muslim democracy, the Minister held talks with Comoran
President Sambi about Kuwaiti investments and bilateral assistance.
FM Mohamed Sabah reportedly committed USD 3.5 million in Kuwaiti
development finance to build a new road along Grande Comore's west
coast from Moroni to the north.

Comoro Gulf Holdings
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3. Kuwait Holdings has incorporated in the Comoros as "Comoro Gulf
Holdings" (CGH) and obtained licenses for investments in five
sectors: hotels, telecommunications, banking, port construction,
and aviation. According to their managers, CGH has customs
exonerations for all equipment imports needed for the various
projects. Ten expatriate CGH staff are already in Moroni, due to
expand to fifty during 2008. They oversee the ongoing
rehabilitation and expansion of the Itsandra Hotel, one of two
"international" standard establishments in Grande Comore.


4. Over the coming months, the CGH bank will become operational and
work will continue at the Itsandra Hotel. Given Moroni's port is
shallow and inadequately equipped, CGH will also work to extend the
quays out to a depth of 12 meters and install infrastructure. A
business manager, ten technicians, and two engineers arrive February
18 to begin establishing the new cell phone company.


5. Eventually, CGH plans to acquire several regional-range aircraft
to initiate new routes and connections. The new Chinese-built
terminal at Moroni's airport is due to open in March. Noting
frequencies from Gulf States to the Comoros are inconvenient (unless
you enjoy a private jet like the Foreign Minister),CGH hopes to
establish the airline to serve its prospective tourist market. The
crown jewel of CGH's investment in the Comoros is a "tourist
village" to be established at the northern tip of Grande Comore,
around a crater lake on the sea. Complete with bungalows, shops,
attractions, and even a golf course, the resort would employ
thousands in construction and hundreds in operation.


6. COMMENT: Union officials have touted the CGH investment as
evidence the government can promote economic development. If
completed, the projects described would dramatically change the
landscape and economy of Grande Comore; and if successful, CGH
already plans to expand to Anjouan and Moheli. Naysayers and
skeptics abound among private Comorans and the diplomatic corps, who
perhaps have seen the country deteriorate too long to imagine it can
recover. Even pessimists, however, took note of the Foreign
Minister's visit, imagining he would not come all this way for
nothing. With the eventual resolution of the ongoing Anjouan
question and durable stability in the Comoros, CGH could well serve
as an anchor investment to be followed by others. END COMMENT.

MARQUARDT