KUWAITI RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE IN SUPPORT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000376 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/IFD/OMA, EEB/IFD/ODF, EUR E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2019 TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL KU SUBJECT: KUWAITI RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE IN SUPPORT OF KOSOVO'S IMF AND WORLD BANK MEMBERSHIP BID REF: A. SECSTATE 33629 ¶B. KUWAIT 134 ¶C. 08 KUWAIT 1212 Classified By: Economic Counselor Oliver John for reasons 1.4 (b & d). ¶1. (SBU) On April 15, Ambassador took advantage of a previously scheduled multilateral meeting with GoK Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al Sabah to urge that Kuwait vote in favor of Kosovo's membership in the IMF and World Bank. Dr. Mohammed acknowledged the benefits that IMF/WB membership would bring to Kosovo by opening up additional sources of assistance. He noted, however, that Kuwait was waiting on the International Court of Justice advisory opinion with regard to Kosovo's statehood. He suggested that, absent that decision, it would be difficult for Kuwait to vote yes, despite the fact that both the IMF and WB have determined that the advisory opinion does not affect Kosovo's membership eligibility. Ambassador then urged Dr. Mohammed to have Kuwait vote, even if it could not commit to a yes vote, in order to ensure that the ballot met quorum requirements. ¶2. (SBU) After receiving ref a instructions, we coordinated our approach with the German, British, French, and Italian embassies. These efforts were complicated by the fact that the EU Embassies had all been closed for the Easter holiday. During his meeting with Ambassador, Dr. Mohammed stated that he would not be able to meet with all the Ambassadors before April 17. We have briefed our colleagues in the other embassies on the results of our approach and will continue to coordinate with them. ¶3. (C) Comment: The Kuwaitis have previously told us that they must move cautiously on Kosovo recognition so as not to ruffle Serb or Russian feathers. We judge that the question of IMF/WB membership for Kosovo is more of a political than a technical issue for the GoK. Although post will be following up with the Ministry of Finance, we believe that the ultimate decision will not rest with the Acting Minister of Finance as Kuwait's IMF/WB governor, but will be a foreign policy decision. The UK DCM told EconCouns on April 15, that they had recently received strong indications that "a large GCC Country" (i.e., Saudi Arabia) was planning to recognize Kosovo "in the near future." Should that actually happen, he suggested, it would be worth approaching the GoK again in order to see if this provided enough "cover." End Comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES