3 Alead E CONFIDENTIAL INWARD SAVING TELEGRAM FROM BAHRAIN TO FOREIGN OFFICE By Bag DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION Sir B. Burrows No. 31 Saving September 26, 1957 R. September 30, 1957 CONFIDENTIAL Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No.31 Saving of September 26, Repeated for information Saving to: Kuwait, Doha, Dubai, Muscat and Political Agent Bahrain. Bahrain/Saudi Relations. I was informed by the Secretary to the Bahrain Government on September 21 that the Ruler had received a letter from bin Jiluwi, the Governor of Hasa, announcing the appointment of Abdulrahman al Qosaibi (Bahrain personalities No.5 and see e.g, my telegram No.176 of 1956) as Saudi Trade Agent in Bahrain, and expressing the hope that this would be acceptable to the Ruler. Mr. Smith said that the Ruler would be glad of my views. I was still researching into the back history of this question when I was informed on the next day that the Ruler had replied to bin Jiluwi accepting the proposal, and had given instructions that the appointment was to be announced on Bahrain radio, which was done. 2. Reference to the previous existence of a Saudi Trade Agent in Bahrain is on page 26, paragraph 79 of P.G.53. It does not appear that the previous appointments in Bahrain or Kuwait have been regarded as carrying any diplomatic or consular privileges, or as requiring any covering agreement between Her Majesty's Government and the Saudi Government, and it does not therefore seem necessary for us to make any comment to the Ruler of Bahrain on the present occasion. If the views expressed in my despatch SI No.116 of August 28 are approved, we should be glad to see this example of increasingly close relations between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. 3. The reasons for the appointment are still obscure. Bahrain's trade with Saudi Arabia has recently been at a very low ebb owing mainly to the depreciation of the riyal and it is possible that the / appointment
