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Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [327v] (654/761)
The record is made up of 1 file (379 folios). It was created in 14 Jan 1935-12 Apr 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
i
4
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S4R ANDREW RYAN reminded Fuad Bey that this matter had been
discussed at the fourth meeting on the 5th July, when it had been agreed that
it involved points of form, rather than of substance. He had now been able to go
mto the question more deeply, in consultation with the competent Department
u o- 6 ^ 0I Y 1 S n Office. There were two difficulties connected with the note written
by sir O. Clayton at the time of the conclusion of the Treaty of Jedda. That note
leferred to the Arms Traffic Convention of 1925, and the reference implied
certain qualifications of the assurance contained in it. That convention was now,
however, dead, and a new agreement was in contemplation, which existed only
m draft form. There would be no new regulation, Sir A. Ryan understood,
providing for special zones, but, on the other hand, the question of possible
restrictions on the supply of arms in abnormal circumstances had attracted
increasing attention. It would be necessary to devise a new formula more in
accordance with these developments than that embodied in the original note.
xt’ explained that the position was that it would be necessary for
His Majesty’s Government to qualify their assurance on the arms traffic in order
to bring it into line with any existing or impending international commitments
by which they might be bound, but that any such qualification would be one of
purely general application. There would be no question of discrimination
against Saudi Arabia as such.
FUAD BEY thanked Sir Andrew Ryan and Mr. Rendel for the explanations
they had given. He said that he had, however, been uneasy at hearing Mr. Rendel
at the fourth meeting on the 5th July, state that His Majesty’s Government did
not intend to treat the Saudi Government “in a less favourable way than any
other friendly country in a similar position. ’ He thought that the expression
m a similar position ’’ might imply discrimination.
Mr. RENDER replied that he had been obliged to use the words quoted by
Fuad Bey on^ account of the provisions in the 1925 Arms Traffic Convention
establishing special zones ’’ in different parts of the world, within which the
signatory countries bound themselves to sell arms only to Governments or their
accredited agents, on account of the risk of any sale of arms to warlike and
turbulent tribal elements leading to unrest and possible revolts. He realised that
zones of this nature did imply a certain discrimination, but he pointed out that
it was essentially in the interests of the Governments of countries within the zones
that there should be a prohibition of the private import of arms and ammunition.
He understood from Sir Andrew Ryan, who had been in touch with the experts
on the subject at the Foreign Office, that it was unlikely that any future Arms
Traffic Convention would contain provision for “special zones.” Nevertheless,
he felt obliged to make a reservation on the point, as it was still possible that some
alternative system might eventually be adopted by which certain groups or
categories of countries should be subject to special regulations. He repeated,
however, that there would be no question of discrimination against Saudi Arabia
as such.
FUAD BEY remarked that the Saudi Government were naturally more
anxious than anybody else that arms should not be supplied illicitly to private
individuals in their country. But they did not like any form of discrimination,
and they could only agree to safeguards such as those underlying the idea of
special zones ’ ’ if they were embodied in general terms applying to the world
as a whole.
After further discussion, SIR ANDREW RYAN undertook that as soon
as a copy of the new draft Arms Traffic Convention had been obtained, he would
try to work out a formula for embodying the original assurance of His Majesty’s
Government in revised and up-to-date terms.
V.
Mr. RENDEL concluded the meeting by enquiring, with reference to the
discussion at the fourth meeting on the 5th July, whether Fuad Bey was now in a
position to make any statement about the recent conference between the delegates
of Saudi Arabia and Koweit to discuss the problem of their mutual economic
relations.
About this item
- Content
This file, like the previous volume (IOR/L/PS/12/2087), concerns relations between the British Government and the Government of Saudi Arabia.
The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, mainly between His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader William Bullard, Hugh Stonehewer Bird, and Stanley R Jordan successively) and officials of the Foreign Office. Other prominent correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires to Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert, succeeded by Alan Charles Trott); His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis); Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]; Amir Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd], Minister of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia; officials of the Colonial Office and the War Office.
The correspondence documents the progression of negotiations for a general settlement between the two governments, which would result in the initial prolongation of the validity of the Treaty of Jedda (the treaty signed between Britain and Ibn Saud in 1927, which initially expired in September 1934) for a period of seven years from 1936 (and for another seven years from 1943).
In addition to discussing matters relating to the proposed general settlement (e.g. the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, slavery regulations, arms traffic, and Saudi debts), the correspondence also documents various visits and meetings, including the following:
- The visit of Amir Saud [Āl Sa‘ūd, Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, heir apparent of Ibn Saud] to Britain (17 June-1 July 1935), accompanied by Fuad Bey Hamza, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia.
- Further meetings at the Foreign Office between Fuad Bey Hamza, Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Minister in London), Sir Andrew Ryan, George William Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and other Foreign Office officials, in July 1935, following on from meetings in September 1934.
- Sir Andrew Ryan's meetings with Ibn Saud in Riyadh in December 1935 and in Jedda in February 1936.
- Four interviews held between Ibn Saud, Sir Reader William Bullard and George William Rendel, in Jedda, during March 1937.
Also discussed are matters relating to the Second World War, including:
- An exchange of letters between Ibn Saud and the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, in early 1939, which principally relate to Ibn Saud's concerns regarding his country's security in the event of the beginning of general hostilities.
- German radio broadcasts in Jedda during the first few weeks of the Second World War and their possible effect on the Jedda population.
- The possibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia formally joining the Allies in the Second World War.
In addition to correspondence the file includes the following: a copy of a programme for Amir Saud's visit to Britain (ff 339-348); exchanges of notes (in English and Arabic) between the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Legation at Jedda, confirming the prolongation of the Treaty of Jedda, dated 1936 and 1943 respectively (ff 189-192 and ff 4-5); a sketch map showing air routes over Saudi Arabia and Iraq (f 31v).
Although the material in this file falls inside the date range of 1935-1943, the final document in the file does include an additional date stamp which is marked '12 April 1947'.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (379 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 380; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [327v] (654/761), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2088, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048209026.0x000039> [accessed 23 June 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2088
- Title
- Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:4r, 5r, 6r:31r, 32r:75v, 77r:77v, 79r:152v, 158r:173v, 175r:180v, 186r:187v, 188v:189r, 190v:191r, 192r:199v, 201r:204v, 206r:266v, 269r:275v, 276v:278v, 280r:286v, 288r:293r, 295r:314r, 316r:380v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence