File 2764/1904 Pt 4 'Baghdad Railway: Anglo-Turkish negotiations; proposals of Turkish Govt; status of Kowait' [‎241r] (486/674)

[This Docpment is_tbe_Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.!
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[March 27.]
o
[11083]
20 APR 1911)-
Section 2.
(No 186 ) ^ ° L ° wther to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received March 27.)
Sir, _ ,
TWTT'RT? j . Pera, March 22, 1911
enclose herewith^of 3 ^ ester( ^ a y in ^ l°cal press an official communique, which I
e close herewith, of a conversation between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and
W ° PPe ’ ‘ he t Fren u oh «We d’affaires, on the subject of the arrangement which has
arraneement the 1 Bagdad B . ailw ay Company. His Excellency declared that the
gement was a purely economical one, and Turkey would now be able to anneal
l? f nf f lgn Ca ^ tal for the ^agdad-Bussorah (sic) branch. He informed M Boppe that
Hie Ottoman Government were anxious to see the negotiations which had begun with
Pressed r theh reaSmg T'T* “ this C0 ^ termi » ate ^tisfactoriiy ,Tnd
larger field* ^ P6 generally that the flnall cial interests of France here should cover a
t , . The “Tanin,” the mouthpiece of the Minister of Finance, to-day enlarges upon
t s subject, pointing out that the declaration in question should remove any bad
humour or suspicion that might exist in France over the signature of the new
tl0nS ’ Turke y bem g. specially anxious to see French capital interested to an
extent even greater than hitherto m the economic development of this country. The
negotiations to this end, the article states, are at present connected with the Samsoun-
bivas-Frzeroum and Trebizond-Van lines—the two lines to be constructed in Albania
^ .i! ; me t( ? th r, Bul S arian frontier. These lines wiD cover some 3,500 kilom It
adds ttiat as the Ottoman Government is bound under its engagements to construct these
lines itself, a loan will be required, and an exchange of views as to the construction
and working of the lines becomes necessary, and even expresses the hope that the
negotiations may be concluded so expeditiously as to admit of Parliament being able
to sanction them before the end of the session.
. , the article says that whether the French will conclude these arrangements
with or without the financial assistance of Great Britain is a matter which concerns
Great Britain and France more than the Ottoman Government, but, in view of the
entente existing between the two countries, Turkey would only regard such co-operation
with satisfaction.
I have, &c.
GERARD LOWTHER.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Newspaper Extract.
Le Chemin de Fer de Bagdad et la France.
HIER, son Excellence Rifaat Pacha, Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres, a eu avec
M. Boppe, charge d’affaires de France, une entrevue au sujet de 1’entente entervenue
entre le Gouvernement ottoman et la Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Bagdad.
^ En declarant qu’elle est purement economique, Rifaat Pacha a releve ensuite que
le Gouvernement, devant beneficier de la majoration de la taxe douaniere et du droit
de patente et ayant obtenu sa liberte d’action sur le trongon de la voie ferree Bagdad-
Bassora, tirera un grand profit de cette entente.
Le Gouvernement ottoman, etant libere de ses engagements concernant la voie
Bagdad-Bassora, pourra faire appel au concours des capitalistes des autres pays.
Au cours de la conversation, Rifaat Pacha a assure au charge d’affaires de France
que le Gouvernement ottoman desirait voir aboutir prochainement les negociations
entamees avec la France au sujet de Faugmentation des chemins de fer en Turquie et
qu’il croyait de Finteret mutuel des deux pays que la France agrandit son champ
d’action financiere pour le progres economique de la Turquie.
Le Ministre a ajoute que des maintenant il exprimait son contentement de cette
entente probable entre la Turquie et la France—entente de nature a fortifier les
relations amicales des deux pays.
[1935 dd—2]