Coll 6/9 'Jeddah Reports Jany 1931–' [‎271v] (543/802)

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94. Ihe agreement between the Saudi and Iraqi Governments regarding the
motor-route from Nejef to Medina (see paragraph 5 of the January report) is
said to have been completed, but details are not yet available.
95. Ibn Saud and the Imam of the Yemen continue to play their diplomatic
game, despite all rumours of tension and frontier trouble. Nothing further was
heard in May about Hasan-al-Idrisi, nor of the final arrangements in regard to
his more important brother, Abdul-Wahhab (paragraph 66 of last report). The
latest news in May was that Ibn Saud had sent three officials from Jizan to San?^^
to negotiate a Treaty of Friendship and “ Bon-Voisinage.” The members of the
mission are Khalid-al-Qarqani and Hamad Suleiman, who were sent to Asir in
November to patch up a settlement there, but arrived too late, and Turki-al-
Madhi, Inspector-General in Asir. The official announcement in the Umm-al-
Qura was accompanied by an unofficial explanation, in reply to Yemeni criticism,
of why the Saudi Government had published the letter mentioned in paragraph 21
of the report for February, and how they had come, owing to mutilation in
telegraphic transmission, to omit a passage in which the Imam apparently made
his consent to new negotiations conditional on their including a settlement of the
frontier. This may give rise to difficulty, as the Saudi view is that the frontier
has already been settled in principle and that only some sort of delimitation is
needed, whereas the Imam may have pretensions to slices of Asir.
96. After full consideration of the difficulties which have been created by
attempts to escape payment of transit dues at Bahrein on goods for Saudi Arabia
and which culminated in the affair mentioned in paragraph 362 of the report for
November-December, His Majesty’s Government decided to take up the position
that the concession made to Ibn Saud in 1920 was unilateral and terminable, but
that, as Bahrein and the mainland had a common interest in the trade, the
situation might usefully be reviewed in the light of changed conditions at a
meeting between Saudi and Bahrein representatives to be held at Bahrein with
the participation of the British 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. . It was suggested that the
delegates of this meeting should prepare terms of agreement ad referendum. The
views of His Majesty’s Government were set forth in a note addressed by His
Majesty’s Minister to the Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 13th May.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs replied on the 21st May. The Saudi Govern
ment did not contest the statement that the concession of 1920 was unilateral and
terminable, but said that the incident of last November had caused them to
arrange for direct transport to Ras Tanura, where port facilities had been
arranged. They added that they did not wish to limit the freedom of Bahrein as
regards transit dues, provided that those charged on goods for Saudi Arabia were
not higher than those on goods for other destinations. This reply necessitates a
further study of the whole question.
97. The contest in Jedda for the Hasa petroleum concession and the
incursion of Major Holmes in April (paragraph 57 (c) of the last report) have
helped to bring into prominence the possibility of secret direct negotiations
between the Sheikh of Koweit and Ibn Saud in regard to oil and possibly other
matters. It is known that the sheikh received messages in February through a
confidential agent of Ibn Saud, and he made two mysterious journeys into Nejd
soon after with a party which included Major Holmes’s Arab Jackal. It is
suggested that he met some high personage, possibly Ibn Saud himself. The
speculations which this has suggested to 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. are of great interest,
but it would be premature to pursue the subject in this report. In the meantime
there has been no relaxation of the Saudi embargo on trade with Koweit, and
Ibn Saud has emphasised his adverse attitude by again allowing the Mutair tribe
to obtain supplies in Iraq.
III .—Relations with Powers outside Arabia.
98. There is even less to record than there was last month. The Saudi
Government have accepted an invitation to attend the World Economic
Conference and have appointed their Minister in London to represent them. The
foreign missions in Jedda have not been as a whole very active. The British
Legation has been mainly busy with Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan affairs and the winding-up of
1 the pilgrimage. The Soviet Minister has been trying to put his trade arrange-
) ment (see paragraph 23 of the report for February) on a firmer basis. The
Acting Iraqi Charge d’Affaires has always something on hand (see paragraphs 93