LEBANON: KUWAIT RESPONSE ON JUNE 23

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000663 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016 TAGS: EAID ECON KU PREF PREL SUBJECT: LEBANON: KUWAIT RESPONSE ON JUNE 23 RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE REF: STATE 60216 Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) In response to reftel request seeking host country support for the June 23 reconstruction conference on Lebanon's Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp, Econcouns spoke with Ambassador Jassim Al-Mubaraki, MFA Director of Arab Affairs, on June 5. Al-Mubaraki said he had just met with the Lebanese CDA and Austrian Ambassador to discuss the event. He said Kuwait would "definitely" participate in the conference with a "high-ranking official," but he could not confirm the official or the amount of Kuwait's contribution at the present time. ¶2. (C) Al-Mubaraki continued that the only "reservation" the GOK had about the proposed conference was that participants and the international community not consider it a "solution" to the refugee problem. The solution to the refugee problem in Nahr Al-Barid and elsewhere, Al-Mubaraki stated, was a return to a homeland along the lines of President Bush's two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis. Thus the conference needed to stress the need for progress on Middle East peace as the best means toward ending the Palestinian refugee problem. ¶3. (C) That said, Al-Mubaraki emphasized that Kuwait was committed to the stability of Lebanon and would make a "generous donation" at the event. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * JONES