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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎189v] (383/1354)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (673 folios). It was created in 28 Jul 1932-15 Jun 1935. 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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2
r
w
3. The G.of I. expressed their general agreement
with the Resident's views. As the result of a
subsequent conference at Bushire the Resident, In
agreement with Sir Francis Humphrys, has suggested
that the Sheiidi might he invited to Bagdad by King
Ghazi in the hope that some arrangement could be
reached over this troublesome question.
4. The matter was considered yesterday at a conferenc
at the Foreign Office, at which Sir A. Clerk: Kerr, the
Ambassador- Designate, was present. 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.
representative dealt with the matter on the basis of
the note for discussion flagged D below, and after
considerable argument the general line suggested in
that note was accepted by the Foreign'Office*. The
draft telegrams now attached to Bagdad ana to Bushire,
which have been prepared here as the result of the
departmentally
'Conference have been accepted/by the Foreign Office,
and are being submitted for consideration.
5. It will be seen that their general line is that
we must make a further effort to reach a reasonable
settlement of this problem and that,given a little
goodwill on the part of the Iraqis and possibly a
little pressure on the sheikh on our side/T^hcre seems
no reason why it should not be possible to reach an
arrangement which would be fair to both parties. There
are very strong objections to allowing this controversy
to develop into a serious political issue in which
we shall nave to intervene whether we like it or not.
The Sheikh has not been wholly reasonable and the
Iraqis have been if possible more unreasonable. As
will be seen, it was thought desirable to make it
clear to the Embassy that certain of the Iraqi proposals,
, ■ i
if unacceptable to the sheikh, are equally unacceptable
1 ji • I pms m
to and to concentrate on persuading;
s ( a )/

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Content

The volume contains papers regarding the alleged smuggling of goods from Kuwait to Iraq, and attempts to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Government of Iraq with regards to importation restrictions, customs appointments and effective frontier controls. It consists of correspondence between the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, 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 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 Kuwait, HM High Commissioner (and later Ambassador) at Baghdad, as well as communications received from Al Sabah and representatives of the Government of Iraq.

The file opens with correspondence concerning the activities of Kuwaiti water boats collecting drinking water at various points along the Shatt el-Arab: the Government of Iraq complained that the boats were not stopping at designated calling points, and that the boats were engaged in smuggling, while the Shaikh of Kuwait asked for the calling point requirement to be rescinded as it was causing interruptions to the water supply. The correspondence also documents instances where Iraqi customs barges had fired on Kuwaiti boats, killing and injuring merchants.

The bulk of the correspondence concerns efforts by HM Ambassador at Iraq, 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. , and 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 Kuwait, to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the two parties. Several conferences were arranged with a view to discussing the Iraqi proposals, viz: that a British Customs Director be appointed at Kuwait to oversee the importation of certain commodities (principally sugar, tea, matches, coffee, tobacco, cigarettes, and cigarette papers); and that the Shaikh co-operate with Iraqi efforts to institute an effective frontier control and customs cordon.

In addition to correspondence, the volume includes the following minutes and reports:

The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).

Extent and format
1 volume (673 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 675; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-672; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎189v] (383/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011513.0x0000b8> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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