Visits to Persian Gulf by members of Houses of Parliament

This file relates to visits to the Gulf by MPs after the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in June 1967 and after Britain's announcement on 16 January 1968 that it intends to withdraw from the Gulf by the end of 1971. In particular it relates to a visit by Reginald Maudling MP to Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Trucial States between 1-10 August 1967, in response to a suggestion by ministers that member of the opposition should visit some moderate Arab countries to balance visits by other MPs to Israel. He travels with Mr Troubridge from Kleinwort, Benson Limited (a merchant banking firm that Maudling is a director of) to discuss the progress on a hospital for the Saudi Royal Family. Much of the file concerns the itinerary, travel, and other arrangements for this visit. It also contains:

• Statement by Maudling prior to his departure
• Report of his encounter with King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who was outspoken about President Gamal Abdul Nasser, alarmed by communism, and suggested greater British support for the Arab States and a harder line against Israel
• Report of his encounter with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Oil
• British newspaper cuttings of Maudling's visit
• Record of a conversation between Maudling and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, during which Sheikh Zayed offered to finance Britain's continued presence in the Gulf
• Points of interest in the Kuwaiti press of 8 August 1967
• Transcript of a press interview with Maudling in Kuwait
• Record of a conversation with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs George Thomson, in which Maudling recounted his tour

This file also relates to another visit by Maudling in February 1968. It contains correspondence and reports concerning:

• His meeting with the Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Jabir Al Ahmad Al Sabah where Britain's intention to withdraw from the Gulf, the future of the treaties and the future of the Trucial Oman Scouts were discussed
• His visit to Abu Dhabi where seemed to do little to further Conservative Party political aims, but focussed on furthering the interests of a firm of architects and consultants in which he and J G L Poulson are associated, including an interest in the Dubai International Airport terminal building
• His meeting with the Ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa where he asserted that the Conservative Party would reverse HMG's decision to withdraw from the Gulf it wins the next election
• Assessment of J G L Poulson Associates and the J G L Poulson Consortium by the Board of Trade

This file also contains correspondence relating to:

• Plans for ten MPs/Peers to visit the Gulf in September 1967 to see the work of the armed services overseas
• Suggested list of MPs who might be asked to visit Arab countries
• Visit by three MPs (Frank Judd, Daniel Awdry and Roland Moyle) to Kuwait as part of the Kuwait government's policy of putting the Arab case on Palestine to British MPs
• Visit by Eldon Griffiths MP to the Gulf as a guest of Kuwait, where he gave an interview to Sawt Al Khalij about problems in the Middle East and HMG's attitude
• Dispute between Margaret Mckay MP and the Sheraton Hotel, Kuwait, regarding an outstanding bill for a delegation of businessmen
• Visit by Colin Jackson MP, at Kuwait's invitation, and the question of whether it is appropriate for him to be accompanied by Parliamentary Private Secretary Ernest Davies