AFRICAN MINISTERS DISMAYED BY FORUM POSTPONEMENT

UNCLAS ABUJA 002449 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF AND EB WHITE HOUSE PASS TO USTR PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EAID XA SUBJECT: AFRICAN MINISTERS DISMAYED BY FORUM POSTPONEMENT ¶1. African trade ministers participating in the September 22-23 Organization of African unity (OAU) meeting in Abuja, Nigeria nearly unanimously told the delegation led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (AUSTR) for Africa Rosa Whitaker they wanted the United States to hold the US-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum on October 4-5 as planned. "This event would have given African countries an opportunity to show solidarity with the U.S. at this difficult time," said Ethiopian Trade Minister Ayele Kassahun. ¶2. The forum was postponed on September 18 at the urging of African Ambassadors to Washington. But in a series of bilateral meetings with the U.S. delegation on the margins of the OAU event, trade ministers and representatives of regional economic organizations claimed that Ambassadors spoke without consulting their capitals. "It's a lie to say African Countries weren,t ready to come to Washington after September 11," ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lasana Kouyate said. "On the contrary, Ministers told their staff not to stop preparing for the Forum." ¶3. It may prove difficult to find new dates for the Forum in the Ministers' crowded fourth quarter schedules. As Nigerian Trade Minister Mustafa Bello put it, "We were ready to come to the U.S. in early October, but now it may have to be late December or January. However, African Trade Ministers responded favorably to the notion of a U.S. - Africa Trade Ministerial before Doha, focused on AGOA and the WTO Andrews