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'11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia' [‎24r] (47/430)

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The record is made up of 1 file (212 folios). It was created in Mar 1944-4 Sep 1949. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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0OHgUU?6y20^25)
p.A.yaa^.
3SGRST
Dear Baxter.
British Logatioo,
JSDDA.
18th January, 1945*
/f
vyith referenda to your secret letter (S 654^12^25) of 29th Iteoenber,
last, regarding the delimitation of the South lias turn frontier of Saudi Arabia,
you will no doubt remeeher that Z first raised this question in peragmih 12
of ay desp&toh Ho. 88 of 6th September, 19 Mh» My proposal that we should ag^in
attempt to settle this <#jestlcm with Zbn Saud arose out of .a ocnvorsation which
Z had with Mr* Hic inbothaca, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrein, whoa I act
faroe^ to land there by stress of weather.
2. We dise ased the untter at some length, and as he, as I, had had
a oonaidera le experionoe of the United States oil ooatany* e activities
it appeared to both of us that the frontier question ml^ht be ar-ieh oorc
difficult to settle whan the company had extended its oi>eration and had "tasted”
oil in the region of the ^atar poninsula.
3* I only raised the question with the Seerstary of State in Cairo
on the lata Lord lioyne* s insiotense, who also thou hi that a settlement
in the future ai^ht prove ooro diffioult than at present# Hs u o
moi'a by pollUoal reasons, o.g, a earstmlllg of the aitufctlcn in the 2iUdl* 3ftst
over wale l tine or the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. States though he was alive to the poseliill^f SC
the Amerloans ctakli^ every effort to induce Xbn Baud to stand out aga^nat Qi^jr
cession of eo-OEilled tribal territory which, should Ibn Saud gain his point,
would form part of the- United States ounce salon* .
0
4. X given the matter oonaidwrable thought before raising it
in the despatch above referred to, and it appears to so that we are, at the
present tine, in&taare favourable position from which to effect a settleni
than ws have been in the past#
Firstly, there is now no doubt in the taind of Ibn >aud that he
noeseseee in Saudi Arabia oil resources rrhich will bring hiti and his st\coc.r-ior^
a considerable revenue for hundreds of years to cuje# olaiuoa ,o
ms that tte riohast oil bearing areas in his dqoains are not *nriLudi> -
tho United States ou^^any*» ocaoesaion, but that lie does not
any further oonoeasions for oil at present# v-hen ihe negotiations
S2 e carried out the^ aa. no oertoOnty oU »■ tte
tatwo larg. q^Utiee txA oonsoq^ntly Iba Saud,
Conoasaioos Ltd. *b oonoeaslw on the gater oninsular K p
oonsideruble importance to the potential oil-boarimB oapacBy
WftUVi»v t area# X feel that with the vast reserves <if oil now xnowB
“ oountry «» «ail «« •mbr^lng J«b^ lW*-h hna loo* .
^Ch of its valuator Mb and ha Gfly now b* bopb mawbl* to a '**«•- • >■
then formerly when he no doubt considered that the area in question represented
wealth. >
secondly, Ibn liaud has bean J^ressiag on hia aun-ounding ^ >
the nao^’of faUinu into lino ,1th ^I
the touia Taliya of tho Tenan and mare reoantty to slm^ KiBmltti.^nnd I thinK
th t it oould be pointed out to hi* that nothina ooula lend sre^tar fnoo to that
advice than the aottlouont of his owi ontatfmdiag.cjseBticra aite us.
Thirdly, ^ have given Mb over
million points sterling by ,ay of a sub.iay to ,_ )U to
rears when tiaes over and I do
itill giving to him#
Fourthly/
f. Baxter, iSeq#, h* ♦#
FCHBIOV OFFia^,
LCKUCH#

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Content

The file comprises correspondence, memoranda, maps, and other papers relating to questions over the position of Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontier adjoining Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhdoms, notably Abu Dhabi. Negotiations over the frontier had long been deferred by British Government officials, as a result of the Ruler of Saudi Arabia ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd’s [Ibn Saud] firm stance in negotiations before the Second World War. However, the need for a resolution became increasingly apparent as a result of ongoing oil exploration in Saudi Arabia by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), and exploration in Qatar and Abu Dhabi by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL). The principal correspondents in the file include: representatives of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , Foreign Office, Ministry of Fuel and Power; the British Legation at Jedda; the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain; and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .

The file includes:

  • correspondence, dating from 1944 and 1945, between British Government officials in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and Foreign Office, discussing the previous difficulties encountered in negotiating Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontiers with Ibn Saud, and the agreement that further negotiations be left until after the event of Ibn Saud’s death (ff 2-29);
  • correspondence from late 1945 through 1947, between Government officials on the possible establishment of a neutral zone between Aramco’s concession area in Saudi Arabia, and PCL’s concession area in Qatar. Also, there is some discussion of Aramco’s proposals to begin seabed exploration off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia (ff 36-59);
  • PCL’s request for permission to conduct seismic surveys at the southernmost limit of their concession area in Qatar (ff 76-95);
  • reports of Aramco survey parties making incursions into PCL’s concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (ff 104-127);
  • Government criticism of PCL’s delay in exploiting its concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (f 133);
  • preparations in August 1949 for the reopening of frontier negotiations with the Saudi Government in Jedda. Papers include: a copy of a confidential memorandum with map, dated 2 February 1948, on the south-eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, prepared by J E Cable of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office (ff 164-169; copy also at ff 87-91); three further confidential memoranda with maps, prepared by the Eastern Department in 1940, outlining past and present negotiations on the position of the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia (ff 170-180, ff 181-185, ff 186-188); proposals to send representatives from Qatar and Abu Dhabi to the Jedda negotiations (ff 190-203).
Extent and format
1 file (212 folios)
Arrangement

The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 204-212) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. This file has the following foliation anomaly: 111A. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-203; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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'11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia' [‎24r] (47/430), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/465, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028545187.0x000030> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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