IRAQ GC MEMBER BARZANI OCTOBER 18

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 004704 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/NGA AND NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/13 TAGS: PREL IZ TC SUBJECT: IRAQ GC MEMBER BARZANI OCTOBER 18 VISIT TO ABU DHABI (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba, Reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 1.(C) Iraq Governing Council member Masoud Al Barzani paid a visit to the UAE October 18, meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and MinState for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (HBZ),and with Qusai Mahdi Saleh, the new Iraqi Ambassador to the UAE. Shaykh Hamdan told the Ambassador during their October 19 meeting that he had hosted a lunch for Barzani and that the Chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party had left a good impression. In fact, HBZ said he liked Barzani very much and found him to be a reasonable moderate leader. HBZ commented that northern Iraq holds great potential for investment and tourism, and offered that the UAE is looking into those possibilities. The subject of Turkish troops deploying to Iraq reportedly was discussed at the meeting, with Barzani briefing on the GC's opposition to the deployment. According to the official UAE news agency, Barzani commended the UAE Red Crescent Authority for reaching out to Iraqis with humanitarian assistance. 2.(U) HBZ also met with IGC Chairman Dr. Iyad Alawi on October 20. According to the official UAE news agency, Shaykh Hamdan reiterated that the UAE supports any efforts made by the council to achieve the Iraqi people's aspirations. WAHBA