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'11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia' [‎187r] (375/430)

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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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3
^7
E. 5861/160/
91 (1938).
really have no material effect on the attitude of Ihri i f.V- session would
rssr u . ™ »«*«K 5 r'JSi SsSitasr
a emergency, whereas it was precisely in the case of emergency that His
imporlee nnient 8 1,1 the P ^“ Gulf was a .natter If so vital
State 8 fo/lndi^to th^Seereterv'ot^State lettel . *, rom the Secretary of K. «#i/t«o/
had consulted the Viceroy and Itmd^m
of the views held by the Government of India on the subject Wh le Wd Zetland
sympathised with the aim which the Foreign Office had in view he felt that the
interests ^nd ^ m Governmlnt s own
n“ S ursue thTmaU^at ° f Affai - would agree
to the
Government of India should have felt it necessarv to nmiru dn tn ” 1 tha ^f' he
to the proposal put forward by the Foreign Office, as this reject m rendered
it impossible to take advantage of the personal surest ion of rel ,'enaered
by Fuad Bey to Sir R. Bullard! and inditing Um'^HisVa estforerk^m'
refused to discuss a compromise solution on the basis proposed it was not at i
clear how any settlement of the frontier question coulj ever reached It
was pointed out that not only were the proposals for a settlement of the frontier
question justifiable on their own merits and in the interests of the TrnHal
Sheikhs. ,t was to the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi's advantage to have ® defla te
frontier guaranteed throughout by His Majesty’s Government, even though
that frentier embraced slightly less territory than an indefinite frontier of
KFn* wvi a . smali sect >on was guaranteed by His Majesty’s Government The
Khor-el-Odeid was a small price to pay for this advantage. Moreover' some
of vd«v of InldoJaKlluol '" 8 qUeStl0 " ^ desiraljle fl '° m the P olnt
. , 1 < /.j. . To i the argument employed by 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. that Ibn Saud would
r t0 res P ect a . frontier line agreed upon between himself and His
Majesty s Government, since his policy in recent years had been to advance his
nfluence and his rule gradually and almost imperceptibly towards the coast in
mite or protests by His Majesty's Government, it was argued that it was exactly
;rL n nce ° f a i xed fr - 0ntler that had ellabled Ibn Saud to extend his influence
gradually over the territories ot tribes which owed no allegiance to anv other
eader and it was with the intention of arresting this process of encroachment
that the Foreign Office had made proposals for a fixed frontier. If the frontier
question remained unsettled the process of encroachment would continue in such
terTito es till" f r Tu P r ? babl >' mutually extend his rule over further
e titoiies till at length his domains would stretch to the shores of the
the MMiRept t 11 iT ii 0 SSlb i e that ’ ha '; ln £ to the general position in
the Middle East and to the internationnal situation, His Majesty’s Government
\rehi U °r t le " ’ e f be t0 1 ! n f l<e more tban a diplomatic protest to the Saudi
, la . 11 Government, in which event the ultimate result would be infinitelv more
Indian ft e°p he • Pre t t ’ lg i e f ° f H !? Ma j est y’ s Government and the Government of
in re Gie I'eisian Gulf area than the settlement proposed by the Foreign Office
Ihil^f !| Cedm fi' rU | '/ 1 mally ’ em P h , asls was laid on the importance of retaining
I n Saud s goodwill (since, except for the question of Palestine, this frontier
question was regarded by Ibn Saud as the only serious difficulty existing between
himself and His Majesty s Government) if only in the interests of His Majesty’s
o\enmient s own position in the Middle East in the event of an international
emergency. I f His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India, whenever
oie question was raised on the Saudi Arabian side, showed that their’only wish
as to leave the matter in abeyance for an indefinite period, while refusing to
admit Ibn Saud’s claims to the Jebel Nakhsh and the Khor-el-Odeid, it would
[ 22284—3 J B 2

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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' [‎187r] (375/430), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/465, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028545189.0x0000b0> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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