KUDOS TO EMBASSY KUWAIT FOR OUTSTANDING SUPPORT

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001293 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ELTN EAIR SUBJECT: KUDOS TO EMBASSY KUWAIT FOR OUTSTANDING SUPPORT FOR EMBASSY BAGHDAD ¶1. (U) Embassy Baghdad, and particularly the Coordinator for Economic Transition in Iraq (CETI),once again expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Embassy Kuwait for your outstanding support. The most recent example of your exceptional service was your timely assistance in securing visas for officials of the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) to travel to Kuwait April 27 to May 8 to attend training provided the International Air Transportation Association and sponsored by Embassy Baghdad in collaboration with UNDP. The training will be an important step in Embassy Baghdad's ongoing effort, led by the Office of the Transportation Attache (OTA),to help the ICAA foster a vibrant Iraqi civil aviation industry, fully compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). An ICAO-compliant civil aviation industry will be crucial to Iraq's ongoing process of economic development and political reconciliation. ¶2. (U) When OTA was belatedly advised that the ICAA officials had been unsuccessful in obtaining Kuwaiti visas, Embassy Baghdad reached out to Embassy Kuwait for help. Under extreme time pressure, the Embassy Kuwait staff contacted the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, identified the requirements for pushing the visa applications forward, collected the necessary information, drafted essential supporting documentation, and successfully facilitated visas for 13 of the 15 potential ICAA participants. Embassy Baghdad, CETI, and OTA would particularly like to thank Acting DCM and Economic Counselor Timothy Lenderking and Economic Officer Steven Conlon for their exceptional work on this issue. ¶3. (U) Embassy Kuwait's assistance on this matter prompted the instant kudos cable, but Embassy Baghdad would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our colleagues in Kuwait for their ongoing support. Geography, politics, and economics bring any number of bilateral issues to the fore, often quickly and unpredictably. Embassy Baghdad has called on Embassy Kuwait for assistance more than once, often with acute time pressure, and you have responded with exemplary professionalism every time. We commend you all for your ongoing support and offer our most sincere thanks. CROCKER