IOR/L/PS/12/2878

The volume contains papers regarding the alleged smuggling of goods from Kuwait to Iraq, and attempts to broker 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 in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent 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and that the boats were engaged in smuggling, while the Shaikh of Kuwait asked for the calling point requirement to be rescinded as it was causing interruptions to the water supply.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 in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Kuwait, to broker 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:

• Note by Colonel Dickson, Political Agent at Kuwait, 'the Contraband problem of Iraq with her neighbours, and in particular how it affects Kuwait', ff 600-610.
• Memo by Yasin Pasha on the customs position between Iraq and Kuwait, ff 565-567.
• Note by Colonel Dickson on the drinking water available in Kuwait and vicinity, including sketch map, ff 492-500.
• India Office memo 'Smuggling between Koweit and Iraq', ff 349-363.
• Foreign Office figures for goods smuggled from Kuwait to Iraq, ff 214-222.
• Private Foreign Office memo on smuggling in the Gulf region, ff 48-64.

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).