IOR/R/15/5/131

The volume contains correspondence related to Kuwait-Iraq smuggling. British officials stood as mediators between the Iraqi Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait to try and solve the smuggling issue. They discussed possible ways to persuade the Shaikh of Kuwait to agree to a friendly arrangement for cooperation for checking smuggling on the lines which had been contemplated. British Government officials also suggested various methods to control smuggling such as a system of manifests, trade control posts, as well as the appointment of a British Director of Customs at Kuwait.

The volume includes minutes of a meeting held in London discussing the question of Kuwait-Iraq smuggling with the Shaikh of Kuwait, a list of regulations of the Customs Code in Iraq issued by the King of Iraq and published in the official gazette, correspondence related to a number of cases of violation of Kuwaiti territorial waters by Iraq Customs launches, as well as the arrest and detention of Kuwaiti nationals.

The Shaikh raised his complaints to the Political Agent who in turn shared the Shaikh’s concerns with other British officials. On the other hand, complaints were also raised by the Iraqi Ministry for Foreign Affairs regarding the Kuwaiti Government’s lack of control of its border lines.

Lists of violation incidents are also included in the volume. Each list includes the following information: date and place of occurrence by whom, a summary of the incident, date of report to the Political Resident and the Iraqi Government’s reply. The volume also includes summary lists of Iraqi newspaper articles which discuss Iraq-Kuwait related issues including smuggling, and the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq.