File 1166/1925 'Arabia: Nejd; negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Iraq-Nejd question and Trans-Jordan boundary; Sir G Clayton's mission; Bahra agreement, 2nd November, 1925' [‎164r] (334/769)

36496/25 ; not printed. f Not printed.
APPENDIX.
38484/25.
Colonial Office to Sir Gilbert Clayton, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G.
Sir,
Downing- Street,
10th September, 1925.
I am directed by Mr. Secretary Amery to acknowledge the receipt
of your letter of the 8th of August* notifying your acceptance of the
appointment of British Representative for the purpose of negotiating
with the Sultan of Nejd a settlement of outstanding frontier and
other questions, and to communicate to you for your guidance the
following information regarding the policy of His Majesty’s Govern
ment in the matters which are likely to be raised in the course of
your conversations with Ibn Sa‘ud.
2. As you are aware, an attempt was made at the end of 1923
to settle by agreement the various matters in dispute between Ibn
Sa‘ud and the rulers of the neighbouring Arab States, and for this
purpose a Conference of representatives of the States concerned
assembled at Koweit in December of that year under the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
of Lieutenant-Colonel S. G. Knox, C.S.I., C.I.E. Copies of the
records! of the proceedings of that Conference are enclosed herewith
for your information, together with a file containing copies of
relevant correspondence with Lieutenant-Colonel Knox.f A certain
measure of progress towards agreement was then made, but for
various reasons which are apparent from the records, the Conference
closed without achieving any definite result. 1 he main objects for
which the Koweit Conference was called were :—
(1) The delimitation of the frontier between Nejd and 1 rans-
Jordan ;
(2) The prevention of trans-frontier raiding between the tribes
of ‘Iraq and Nejd and the settlement of claims arising from past
raids ;
(3) The settlement of frontier and other disputes between
Nejd and the Hejaz. Since that Conference terminated many
events have occurred which have considerably modified the
situation in Arabia. A brief record of these events will be iound
in the Appendix to the report! of the Committee of Imperial
Defence, of which a copy is enclosed herewith. Chief among
these events was the outbreak of hostilities between the Sultan
of Nejd and the King of the Hejaz. Hostilities are still pro
ceeding, and although the final issue cannot be foreseen the
present position is that the forces of Ibn Sa‘ud are in effective
occupation of the greater part of the Hejaz, including the Holy
City of Mecca, and are investing the town of Jeddah, upon
which and the immediately surrounding country King Ali main
tains a precarious hold. The northern districts of the Hejaz,
bordering upon Trans-Jordan, are not at present in the effective
occupation of either of the combatants. As you are aware, His
Majesty’s Government have publicly announced their strict
neutrality in this conflict.