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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎56v] (113/540)

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The record is made up of 1 file (268 folios). It was created in 18 Apr 1931-18 May 1945. 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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18
Koweit.
(j/. The Koweit “ blockade " had not been raised by the end of the year.
The conflicting theses had, however, been brought nearer together, and there
seemed some hope of a settlement. To follow all the steps ot the negotiations
would be tedious. In the hope of allaying Saudi fears that goods nominally
destined for Iraq might, after leaving Koweit, be smuggled into Saudi territory,
His Majesty’s Minister, under instructions from the Foreign Office, informed
Fuad Bey that the Sheikh of Koweit was quite willing to enter into an anti
smuggling agreement with Iraq, but wished to complete the discussions with
the Saudi Government first and to get the scheme working on that side, and His
Majesty’s Government agreed that it would be simplest and most expeditious
to take one step at a time and recommended that course strongly. The subject
was discussed during Mr. Rendel’s visit in March, and Sheikh Yusuf Tasin, who
was acting for Fuad Bey, was then in his most unyielding mood. To justify his
intransigence he declared that one-third of the revenue of Hasa was lost owing
to smuggling from Koweit, and he added in private that the great obstacle was
Ibn Sand’s knowledge that smuggling from Koweit was effected under the
control of the Sheikh himself, who made a profit out of it. He also stated that
the smuggling was so bad that Ibn Saud had recently imposed the death penalty
on smugglers on several occasions. The written protest from Ibn Saud about
the Arab territories of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and, in particular, his reference to
Bahrein and Koweit (paragraph 71), might be read as the admission of a desire
to strangle the trade of his neighbours in order to divert trade to Saudi ports,
and at one interview, when His Majesty’s Minister referred to the advantages
which might be expected from a restoration of normal trade, Sheikh Yusuf
Yasin declared that trade via Koweit was not in the least necessary to Saudi
Arabia. Another serious difficulty arose when Sheikh Yusuf Yasin said that
he had taken for granted that an Agreement for Friendship and Bon-Voisinage
and an Extradition Agreement would come into force simultaneously with the
restoration of trade relations. It is true that this point had been mentioned in
a letter which he addressed to His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires on the
17th August, 1936, but the passage about the other agreements had been read as
meaning that these ought to be discussed when the trade agreement had come
into force. Eventually some, at least, of the difficulties were smoothed away.
The Saudi Government dropped their proposals that caravans should be accom
panied by officials and only leave on fixed days, and that no Beduin should
be allowed to make purchases unless he had a Saudi permit for that purpose,
but held to their contention that all retail purchasers bound for Saudi Arabia
should leave Koweit in parties and observe the procedure devised for caravans.
On the other hand, the fears expressed by 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, that the proposal to link the two other agreements with the trade agreement
would be unpalatable to the Sheikh and would delay the negotiations, proved
to be unfounded. His Highness agreed to the proposal in principle, and accepted
the latest Saudi draft of the agreement as amended in London by the departments
concerned. At the end of the year the reply to this effect which was sent to
the Saudi Arabian Government by His Majesty’s Legation with the amended
draft agreement had been approved in principle bv the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, and was being examined by the Ministry of Finance.
68. In December it was reported that this year nearly the whole of the
Awazim tribe had been permitted by Ibn Saud to enter Koweit territory, where
a certain number of that tribe go every winter, in order to find better grazing
than the poor rainfall had provided in their own “ dira." As the Political
Agent at Koweit pointed out, this permission involves leave to make purchases
in the Koweit market.
69. It is known that Ibn Saud regrets the inability (due, it is believed, to
financial considerations) of his Highness the Sheikh of Koweit to perform
the pilgrimage. The ordinary pilgrims from Koweit are increasing in
number. It was particularly noticed in December that many more litters were
preparing for the journey than in the year before. This increase was attributed
to the continued security on the pilgrim road.
70. The Saudi Government approached His Majesty’s Legation for the
advice of His Majesty’s Government as to the possibility of prospecting for oil

About this item

Content

This file contains copies of annual reports regarding the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) during the years 1930-1938 and 1943-1944.

The reports were produced by the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) and sent to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (and in the case of these copies, forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India), with the exception of the reports for 1943 and 1944, which appear to have been produced and sent by His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda, Stanley R Jordan.

The reports covering 1930-1938 discuss the following subjects: foreign relations; internal affairs; financial, economic and commercial affairs; military organisation; aviation; legislation; press; education; the pilgrimage; slavery and the slave trade; naval matters. The reports for 1943 and 1944 are rather less substantial. The 1943 report discusses Arab affairs, Saudi relations with foreign powers, finance, supplies, and the pilgrimage, whilst the 1944 report covers these subjects in addition to the following: the activities of the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Supply Centre, and the Saudi royal family.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (268 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 269; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-12 and ff 45-268; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎56v] (113/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2085, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036362870.0x000072> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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