TFIZ01: UAE RESPONDS TO APPEAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001716 SIPDIS STATE FOR IRAQ TASK FORCE, ALSO NEA/ARP, PRM/ANE, AND IO/UNP KUWAIT FOR THE HOC E.O. 12958: DECL 04/09/2008 TAGS: EAID PREL PGOV PHUM KPAL KWBG TC SUBJECT: TFIZ01: UAE RESPONDS TO APPEAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID TO IRAQ REFS: A) STATE 89192 B) ABU DHABI 1439 C) ABU DHABI 1667 ¶1. (U) Classified by DCM Richard A. Albright, for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). ¶2. (C) Summary and comment: Post has engaged UAE officials at all levels of government regarding humanitarian assistance since the onset of war in Iraq began. In line with the UAEG's preference to provide assistance-in-kind rather than cash donations, the UAEG is facilitating the shipment of humanitarian supplies to Iraq. The UAE Red Crescent Authority (headquartered in Abu Dhabi) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Charity and Foundation in Dubai are coordinating the outpouring of donations from the Emirati public. We will continue to report the activities of these charities and the UAEG as they support the humanitarian effort in Iraq. End summary and comment. ¶3. (C) Per refs B and C, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has noted to the Ambassador on several occasions that the UAE RCA had purchased about $3 million USD in medical supplies and other necessities just prior to the war and delivered the goods to Iraqi hospitals. Most recently, the office of UAE Armed Forces Chief of Staff Shaykh Mohammed bin Zayid Al-Nahyan on 4/6 requested Post's assistance to coordinate the delivery of 700 tons of foodstuffs, and nine vehicles (including four water tankers and an ambulance) with the Humanitarian Operations Center and the ICRC representative in Kuwait. UAE First Lady Shaykha Fatima this week donated an approximate $2 million USD to the UAE RCA for the Iraqi people. ¶4. (U) In Dubai, the Shaykh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian Foundation (whose patron is the UAE Defense Minister and Dubai Crown Prince) continues to collect cash donations and humanitarian supplies on behalf of the 16 charities in the UAE that it represents, and has expressed an interest in sending these supplies to Iraq soon. ¶5. (C) In addition, the UAE Foreign Ministry signed in late March an agreement with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) formalizing WFP's regional office in Dubai. The WFP office has been operating in Dubai for some time, however, and recent press reports indicate that the WFP facility in Dubai will be a major transshipment point for humanitarian aid destined to Iraq. Wahba