Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUDHABI772
2003-02-17 14:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI AND AMCONSUL DUBAI FACILITATE U.S.

Tags:  BEXP BBSR ECON ETRD EINV TC 
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Diana T Fritz 06/05/2007 10:28:43 AM From DB/Inbox: Search Results

Cable 
Text: 
 
 
CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM February 17, 2003


To: No Action Addressee 

Action: Unknown 

From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 772 - ROUTINE) 

TAGS: BEXP, BBSR, ECON, ETRD, EINV 

Captions: None 

Subject: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI AND AMCONSUL DUBAI FACILITATE U.S. 
 BUSINESS IN THE UAE 

Ref: None 
_________________________________________________________________
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 00772

SIPDIS
CXABU:
 ACTION: ECON 
 INFO: AMB DCM POL P/M 
Laser1:
 INFO: FCS 

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB: MMWAHBA
DRAFTED: ECON:CCRUMPLER
CLEARED: A/DCM: TWILLIAMS; CGD: ROLSON; FCS: JLANCIA

VZCZCADI986
RR RUEHC RUEHZM RUEHDE
DE RUEHAD #0772/01 0481444
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 171444Z FEB 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8404
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 2799
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000772 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/RA, NEA/ARP, EB/CBA FOR MICHAEL GARCIA

E.O. 12958: DECL 02/17/08
TAGS: BEXP BBSR ECON ETRD EINV TC
SUBJECT: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI AND AMCONSUL DUBAI FACILITATE U.S.
BUSINESS IN THE UAE

REF: STATE 29441

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000772

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/RA, NEA/ARP, EB/CBA FOR MICHAEL GARCIA

E.O. 12958: DECL 02/17/08
TAGS: BEXP BBSR ECON ETRD EINV TC
SUBJECT: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI AND AMCONSUL DUBAI FACILITATE U.S.
BUSINESS IN THE UAE

REF: STATE 29441


1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for
reasons 1.5 (B) and (D).


2. (C) Comment and summary. The U.S. Mission to the UAE has
facilitated a number of high-profile business deals in the
UAE during the last year. Family connections and political
influence remain key to doing business in the UAE and many of
our official contacts also own prominent private businesses,
act as sponsors to foreign firms, or influence the selection
of bids for major government/local contracts. Our close and
continuing relationships with the powerful elite in the UAE
has no doubt led to increased U.S. exports, selection of U.S.
firms for various contracts and tenders, and positive resolution
for U.S. firms in commercial disputes during the last year.
End summary and comment.

-------------- --------------
Sealing The Deal: Engine Alliance and Emirates Air
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Following a two-year campaign, Engine Alliance
(a General Electric/Pratt & Whitney joint venture) signed
a General Terms Agreement on June 5, 2002 with Emirates
Airline to provide the engines to power Emirates new fleet of
A-380 aircraft. The Ambassador and Consul General in Dubai,
supported by FCS Dubai, actively advocated on behalf of Engine
Alliance and made official representations on the American firm's
behalf throughout the 2-year long campaign, including with
Dubai Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Rashid, Emirates CEO Shaykh Ahmed
Bin Saeed, and senior executives of Emirates Airline. The
expected total value of the program -- with parts and services
over the life of the program -- is estimated at over US$3.6
billion. Additionally, with Emirates seriously considering buying
between 10-20 additional A-380s, this deal will squarely put
the Engine Alliance in a strong position to capture such follow-on
orders.


4. (C) The Ambassador and Consul General have also lobbied
extensively with Emirates CEO Shaykh Ahmed on behalf of

Boeing's efforts to sell 25 B-777 long-range aircraft
to Emirates Air. This sale is still pending.

-------------- --------------
Managing The Boycott Clause: Raytheon and Civil Aviation
-------------- --------------


5. (C) The Ambassador, FCS and Econchief's sustained
advocacy brought to a close on June 14, 2002 a 39-month long
saga to help U.S. firm Raytheon secure a US$30 million
deal with the Abu Dhabi Civil Aviation Department for
air traffic control radars in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain. The
Ambassador successfully urged Abu Dhabi Crown Prince (and
de facto ruler) Shaykh Khalifa bin Zayid Al-Nahyan to over-rule
his own Planning Department in May by having the Abu Dhabi
Executive Council -- in writing -- exempt Raytheon from the
Israeli boycott clause of the contract.


6. (C) When the French company Airsys proved unable to beat
Raytheon's price and the Abu Dhabi Executive Council awarded the
contract to the U.S. firm in August 2001, Airsys tried to make
an issue of the Israeli boycott clause in the antiquated,
standard contract form still used by the Deaprtment of Civil
Aviation. Using their connections within Abu Dhabi's Planning
Committee, the French sought to have the Raytheon bid
disqualified for non-compliance unless the firm accepted the
boycott provision. Advocacy by the Ambassador and the country team
throughout this 3-year period was instrumental in helping Raytheon
overcome efforts by Airsys to wrest away the deal.

--------------
Moving Full Speed Ahead: Ford Agency Dispute
--------------


7. (C) In the fall of 2001, Consul General Dubai made repeated
interventions with Dubai Crown Prince Shaykh Mohammed Bin
Rashid to resolve a longstanding dispute between Ford Motor
Company and its dysfunctional local agent, Galadari Brothers.
Shaykh Mohammed directed the Dubai Attorney General to broker an
out-of-court settlement that allowed Ford to establish a new
agency with Al-Tayer Motors. After being absent from the local
market for a number of years, Ford is now once again selling cars
in the UAE, and the UAE has developed into one of its most
successful regional markets -- helping to offset downturns in
the Saudi market, according to the regional Ford office based
in Dubai.

-------------- -
Protecting U.S. Pharmaceuticals: PhRMA v. UAEG
-------------- -


8. (C) The Ambassador and Econchief negotiated tirelessly
throughout spring 2002 to stop the production of pirated U.S.
pharmaceuticals in the UAE and establish adequate IPR protection
for American products over the long-term. Despite UAE
pharmaceutical manufacturer Julphar's political ties at the highest
levels of the UAEG, the Front Office intervened on behalf of
the U.S. pharmaceutical industry several times at the
political (ministerial) level and doggedly pursued concessions
from both industry representative PhRMA and the UAEG in
face-to-face negotiations. On March 27, 2002,
the UAE Ministries of Health and Finance and Industry
conveyed in writing their acceptance of PhRMA's "best and final
offer" under which 25 U.S. patent-protected, innovative products
would be afforded 5-year data exclusivity protection (as against
a UAE-submitted list of 168). Under the terms of the agreement we
crafted and which PhRMA and the UAEG accepted, all other
U.S.-patented drugs, whether pending registration or not, will
be given data exclusivity protection in the UAE market
equal to the patent term -- a major commitment which puts the
UAE well beyond its minimal WTO TRIPs obligations.

9. (C) To date, the UAEG has kept to the terms of the March
agreement and has not registered any new U.S. pharmaceuticals for
production in the UAE, despite such requests from Julphar and
other local manufacturers. As a result of Post's
continuing efforts, the UAE has been removed from the 301
Watchlist -- a major priority for the UAEG -- and passed fully
TRIPs-compliant patent, copyright, and trademark laws in 2002,
further protecting an incalculable amount/dollar value of
U.S. intellectual property in the UAE for years to come.

--------------
Sustained Advocacy For U.S. Oil Companies
--------------


10. (C) Post has a long tradition of advocating on behalf of
U.S. oil companies for government contracts and tenders in the
UAE. As a result, U.S. firms are well represented in the oil
sector here (Exxonmobil is an equity stakeholder in Abu
Dhabi's onshore concession and Conoco-Phillips manages Dubai's
main oilfield). Our advocacy efforts paid off in May 2002, when
(in a surprise to many in the industry)
U.S. energy firm Occidental Petroleum was selected to take a 24.5
percent stake in the US$3.5 billion Dolphin Project to pipe
natural gas from Qatar to the UAE. Aware of Post's sustained
efforts to advocate on behalf of American firms, de facto Defense
Minister Muhammad bin Zayid Al-Nahyan and patron of the Dolphin
Project told the Ambassador in advance of the official
announcement on May 8 that a U.S. firm had won the competition.


11. (C) Most recently, ADNOC Deputy CEO Abdullah Bin Nasser
Al-Suweidi asked Econchief and Econoff to suggest companies to
participate in a joint venture with contracting Al-Fahim Group for
oilfield services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Econoff passed ADNOC the name of U.S. company Halliburton's
regional representative and in January 2003, Halliburton signed
a Joint Venture Agreement with Al-Fahim to offer open and cased
hole logging and wireline perforating services in Abu Dhabi.
While the value of the business is relatively small, it is
indicative of the informal way in which the Front Offices
frequently facilitate and promote business for U.S. companies.


12. (C) We eagerly await ADNOC's decision later this year to
select an international oil company as a 28 percent equity
partner in the development of the Upper Zakum oil
field -- one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world.
This project is both technologically complex and commercially
lucrative (the field holds an approximate 40-50 billion barrels
of oil; half of Abu Dhabi's reserves). In mid-2002, ADNOC
Deputy CEO Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Suweidi asked Econchief to
facilitate contacts at an appropriately senior level with U.S.
oil giant Chevron-Texaco; ADNOC had not had previous contact
with the firm and wanted to ensure their initial approach was
appropriately received. Econchief was able to contact Chevron's
Vice-President, brief him on Upper Zakum and Mr. Al-Suweidi,
and put the two together by telephone the next day. As a result,
Chevron-Texaco has been invited to submit a bid in the
project, raising U.S. participation to two (the other is
ExxonMobil),out of a total field of five. While the final
decision has not yet been made, ADNOC CEO Yousef Bin
Omeir recently told Charge that American oil firms bring
the best technology and expertise to the table.

Wahba