‘Kuwait – Saudi Frontier.’ [‎13r] (25/48)

9
o
Ini
No* 81
276/5/49
SECRET
srmr
ei. i
COPY.
British Embassy,
Jedda.
21st April, 1949,
Sir,
When Sir W.R, Hay passed through Jedda on tour a few days
ago, he brought me a copy of his secret telegram to you of the
25th March last No.130, concerning the latest developments
connected with oil exploitation in the Saudi-Kuweit Neutral Zone.
I was also glad to have the opportunity of discussing that matter
with him in its general aspects. I take this opportunity of
mentioning that I am in complete agreement with the suggestion ^ (
made by him in paragraph 5 of his despatch to you No.173(59/47/48)
of the 30th December 1948. The Saudi Arabian Government have not
so far approached me in this matter but it seems to me most
desirable that the exact situation of the frontier should be deter
mined as far as possible, even though, for reasons unknown to me,
one of the representatives of American Independent Oil Company
named Morris is reported in the' telegram referred to above to
oppose that plan.
2. My American colleague has already raised the question with
me and at his request I showed to a member of his staff the text
of the Kuwaiti Nejd Boundary Convention of 1922 and article 5
of the unratified Anglo Turkish Agreement of 1913: he already
possessed Aitchison r s 'Treaties Engagements and Sanads" Vol. XI,
and I therefore had only to direct him to pages 213 and 266 of
that work. I explained that I possessed no copy of the map
referred to in article 5 of the latter Agreement. The official
concerned drew my attention to the words "until through
the good offices of the Government of Great Britain...." which occur
in the 1922 Convention. I understand that the report which
Mr. Childs sent to the State Department in this matter was
factual, but I expect that in some way or other our good offices
will be invoked fairly soon. The signing of the agreement,
between the Saudi Arabian Government and the Pacific Western
Cil Company concerning the Saudi undivided share of the Neutral
Zone increases the urgency of this question and many others,
some of which I propose to allude to in this despatch.
3. The administration of the Neutral Zone is perhaps the most
important of these questions in practice. Mr. Childs tells
me that he raised it with Fuad Hamza during his recent visit to
Riyadh. Fuad had suggested to him that some kind of ex
territorial regime should be established in the Zone. This
suggestion brought to my mind the three agreements of April
1942 between this country and Kuweit: on reading them through
I find that the clause which is most relevant to Fuad Hamzat
suggestion is Article 8 of the Extradition Agreement. It
has also been suggested that the Zone should be divided, by
mutual arrangement, by an east-west line through the middle,
so that Kuweit could administer the northern part and Saudi
Arabia the southern .
4. A small point, which may perhaps give rise to a good deal
of friction, is the very extraordinary wording of Article 37 of
the Pacific Western concession: it says "the Company shall fly
the flag of Saudi Arabia within the Neutral Zone". I have not
yet received a copy of the American Independent Oil Company T s
concession of the 28th June 1948 but even if it contains a similar
/provision
The Right Honourable C.R. Attlee, M.C., M.P.,
etc., etc., etc.,
FOREIGN OFFICE.
J