COUNCIL
HORSE GUARDS AVENUE, F
WHITEHALL, S.W.J.
13th December, 1954
Kuwait Development
At the inter-departmental meeting on Kuwait held
under your chairmanship on the 12th October, the Board of Trade
were asked to sound the British contractors working in Kuwait
about the current negotiations on the terms of their contracts.
This has now been done; and inevitably in the course of the
talks with representatives of the "Big Fivell the position
of our firms in general and prospects in Kuwait for the
immediate future were raised by them. It seems that the
firms are about to raise the subject again at a high level
as they consider that vigorous action with full support
from H.M.G. is necessary immediately if our future chances
of continuing to work in Kuwait on a big scale are to be
favourable.
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I have thought it best, therefore, to review in a draft
paper the past history of development in Kuwait - based on
Peter Reilly's admirable memoranda - and to draw together
the views expressed to me by the contractors. Two copies
of the draft are enclosed (in case you may want to show
one to Robert Belgrave); and I am sending a copy also, with
a copy of this letter, to Arthur Potter, for such comments
as you may both care to make. If you agree, the final result
might then be discussed inter-departmentally at an early
meeting.
/It
L.A.C. Fry, Esq., 0.B.E.,
Foreign Office,
S. W. 1.
