VZCZCXRO8325
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0298 1290946
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080946Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7846
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS MANAMA 000298 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KNNP BA
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON IAEA SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 48610 
     ¶B. BUTLER-STUKALIN EMAIL OF 05/07/2008 
 
¶1. (SBU) A/DCM met with MFA Legal Adviser Dr. Yusuf 
Abdulkarim Mohammed on May 7 to discuss the status of 
Bahrain's IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA).  Dr. 
Yusuf confirmed that the ratification process was still 
pending. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The government submitted the proposal for CSA 
ratification to the parliament in March and it remains in 
committee in the lower house.  The ratification became 
ensnared in an unrelated dispute over the questioning of a 
Minister which prevented the lower house from acting on all 
but the most urgent business for five weeks.  The parliament 
will conclude the current session on May 13.  Dr. Yusuf 
lamented that it was not realistic to expect that the 
ratification would happen before the session ends.  He noted 
that, given King Hamad's emphasis on meeting all 
international legal framework requirements on nuclear 
technology, it was conceivable that the ratification could be 
effected by Royal Decree.  (NOTE: The parliament will not 
reconvene until October, after Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr 
holiday.  Absent a decree, it is unlikely that ratification 
could be completed before November.) 
 
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Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
HENZEL