VZCZCXRO1205
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAN #0136 0501041
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191041Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0983
INFO RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0002
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0023
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC

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 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶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