VZCZCXRO8020
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHKU #0185/01 0211657
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211657Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2590
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0210
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1146
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000185 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/A, NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ELAB PGOV PREL PINR AF XD KU
SUBJECT: AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO KUWAIT ON LONDON CONFERENCE 
AND GOK ASSISTANCE WOES 
 
REF: A. 05 KUWAIT 4624 
     ¶B. SECSTATE 03627 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  During a January 21 meeting with the 
Ambassador on GOK assistance and labor issues, Afghan 
Ambassador to Kuwait Yussuf Samad praised the USG for its 
ongoing support to Afghanistan; pointed to GOK unwillingness 
to re-start assistance absent a solution to old GOA arrears; 
acknowledged GOA responsibility to repay its arrears based on 
an MOU signed with the GOK in 2003; and noted that the 
estimated 10,000 Afghan laborers in Kuwait were mostly 
construction workers and traders who work under relatively 
favorable conditions.  Ambassador reaffirmed the USG's 
commitment to Afghanistan and offered the Embassy's continued 
support in overcoming the GOK's reluctance to offer new 
assistance to Afghanistan.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (SBU) On January 21, Ambassador met with his Afghan 
counterpart, Yussuf Samad, to discuss the GOA's efforts to 
secure renewed assistance from the GOK and to offer continued 
USG support in this regard.  Samad thanked the USG for being 
"the greatest contributor" in Afghanistan and for the 
Embassy's continued support.  He pointed to an estimated $15M 
in outstanding arrears with the GOK resulting from a 1977 
loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development 
(KFAED) for a sugar factory in Baghlan, Afghanistan (see ref 
A).  Ambassador noted ongoing efforts to address Russian debt 
claims with Afghanistan as a precondition to resolving other 
bilateral GOA debt.  Samad explained that the GOK, citing 
internal KFAED regulations, "told me very clearly no" to 
writing off the arrears.  Samad added that the GOA had signed 
an MOU with the GOK in 2003 to reschedule the arrears on a 
very generous long-term basis but had yet to begin repayment. 
 (Note: Post was under the impression that the GOA had not 
signed the MOU.)  Samad accurately noted that the GOK could 
still provide grant assistance through the KFAED despite the 
arrears. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Samad, the GOK has not provided renewed 
assistance to Afghanistan since its $30M grant pledge at the 
2002 Tokyo donors conference.  He added that it remains 
unclear what amount, if any, the GOK pledged at the 2004 
Berlin donors conference.  Samad said that he and the British 
Ambassador to Kuwait personally extended the invitation to 
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah to 
attend the upcoming London conference.  (Note: The Amir's 
death on 15 January continues to impact political 
developments in Kuwait and could result in a cabinet 
reshuffle.)  Samad mentioned an upcoming visit to Kuwait by 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai before the president's trip to 
Denmark (audience with the Queen), Switzerland (Davos Forum), 
and the UK (London Conference).  (Note: This may not occur; 
the GOK has asked as of today that all official visits be 
postponed until after the 40-day mourning period.)  Per ref 
B, Ambassador shared a copy of the USG points to be raised 
with the GOK in anticipation of the London conference. 
Ambassador offered continued USG support to help secure 
renewed GOK assistance for Afghanistan, voicing skepticism 
about the possibility of new GOK pledges in London without 
resolution of the arrears. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On the status of Afghan laborers in Kuwait, Samad 
proudly noted that Kuwaitis are generally complimentary of 
Afghan laborers and that a "very small minority" of the 
estimated 10,000 Afghans residing and working (mostly males) 
in Kuwait faced problems with employers (e.g., passport 
confiscation, harassment).  He added that most Afghans in 
Kuwait were ethnic Pashtuns, some well established in 
business, engineering, and medicine, from the eastern Afghan 
provinces (Paktia, Paktika, Khowst) bordering Pakistan. 
Samad explained that Afghans came to Kuwait as refugees and 
that some continue to arrive illegally through the Iraqi and 
Saudi borders in search of work in Kuwait.  Samad said that 
he urges Afghan expatriates to eschew criminal activities and 
"to behave as guests" in Kuwait. 
 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Yussuf Samad has been Afghanistan's Ambassador to 
Kuwait since 2003.  Prior to rejoining the Afghan government, 
Samad resided in Falls Church, Virginia and worked as an 
international radio broadcaster for VOA's Dari service.  From 
1962-1981, he served in various capacities in the Afghan 
Foreign Ministry and at Afghan Embassies in London and Paris. 
 He has a B.A. from Kabul University's College of Law and 
 
KUWAIT 00000185  002 OF 002 
 
 
Political Sciences and attended the Preparatory French High 
School at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.  He 
speaks English, Dari-Farsi, Pashto and has oral proficiency 
in Arabic.  Samad's son, Omar Samad, served as the Afghan 
Foreign Ministry spokesman from 2002-2004 and is the current 
Afghan Ambassador to Canada. 
 
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http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
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LeBaron