UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL SPEAKER ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000255

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/NGA, NEA/PI, NEA/PPD, NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/14
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWMN KMPI IZ TC
SUBJECT: UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL SPEAKER ON
IRAQ, ROLE OF WOMEN IN POLITICS, VISIT TO U.S.

Ref: Abu Dhabi 211

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


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador met with Federal
National Council Speaker Saeed Mohammed Saeed Al
Kindi on January 21 and discussed Iraq, the future
role of women in UAE political life, and the
possibility of sending a delegation of Emirati
parliamentarians and FNC staff to the United States
to observe how American political institutions
function. On Iraq, Al Kindi warned of fragmentation
on ethnic and religious lines and expressed support
for giving the United Nations a greater political
role in Iraq's political transition. Al Kindi stated
that there were no barriers to women being appointed
to the FNC, and that it was up to the rulers of each
of the seven emirates to make such appointments. He
welcomed the opportunity for parliamentarians to
visit the United States and appointed the FNC
Secretary General to work out the details with the

SIPDIS
Embassy. End Summary.


2. (U) The Ambassador called on FNC Speaker Al Kindi
on January 21. Also present at the meeting were FNC
Secretary General Mohammed Salem Al Mazrouie, and

SIPDIS
Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Assistant Secretary General
for Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs. Polchief
accompanied the Ambassador.


3. (C) On Iraq, Al Kindi was insistent that the
country's future government not be based on ethnic or
religious composition. Iraqis, he added, need to
work for the future of their nation, not for
individual group interests. This view tracks with
the views of other senior UAE leaders (see reftel).
Al Kindi said everyone in the Gulf region should play
a role in helping Iraq through this transition
period. Iraqis have been destroyed by 35 years of
rule by Saddam Hussein, he said. If left to their
own devices, the Iraqis would split up into religious
or ethnic groups, a detrimental development the UAE
would not want to see.


4. (U) Concerning the future political role of women
in the UAE, Al Kindi said that there is nothing in
UAE law that opposes this. He said it is up to the
rulers of each emirate to make appointments. (Note:
Shaykha Fatima, the wife of UAE President Shaykh
Zayed, has called for the admission of women into the
FNC. End note.) The FNC has 40 members drawn from
the emirates on the basis of their population, with
eight each from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, six each for
Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah, and four each for
Fujairah, Umm Al-Qaiwain and Ajman. Al Kindi said
that Emirati women work in many companies and
government ministries, and noted that a number of
women had been appointed recently to the Sharjah
Consultative Council. Women occupy more than half
the positions in the FNC general secretariat. Al
Kindi told the Ambassador that he believes the role
of women in the economy, society, and employment will
expand in the near future.


5. (U) The Ambassador and Al Kindi reviewed U.S.-UAE
bilateral relations in many fields, including
commerce, the military, and law enforcement. The
Ambassador also assured Al Kindi that the USG was
taking steps to reverse the trend toward declining
UAE student enrollments in American colleges by
conducting outreach programs on new visa procedures.
The Ambassador said that the Embassy wanted to
propose a visit to the United States by UAE
parliamentarians and their staff to learn about how
the American legislative system functions. Al Kindi
was very receptive to the idea, which our mission had
discussed previously with FNC member and former
International Visitor recipient Ali Jassem. Ali
Jassem heads the radio station in Umm Al Qaiwain
emirate. Post is inquiring with the Department about
funding options, including MEPI and the International
Visitor program.


6. (U) Al Kindi explained that a principal goal of
the FNC is to look after the country's economic and
business interests. These are the important issues
that move a nation forward and keep it on the right
track, he said. The reason the UAE has opened its
doors to people of many nationalities and treated
them very well is because it recognizes their
valuable contribution to the economy, he said. The
FNC has a legislative role under the constitution and
is responsible for examining and, if necessary,
amending, proposed federal legislation. The FNC has
the power to summon and to question any federal
minister, as it did recently when it grilled Shaykh
Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the minister of higher
education and scientific research, over the education
system's failure to produce qualified graduates to
fill jobs on the local economy.


7. (U) Biographical notes: Saeed Mohammed Saeed Al
Kindi was elected by his FNC peers as Speaker of the
Federal National Council on February 18, 2003. He
was appointed to the FNC in February 1993. A Dubai
businessman, Al Kindi is chairman of the Al Ghandi
(variation on the spelling of his name) group of
companies, which includes National Auto (GMC),Al
Ghandi Auto (Fiat and Lancia),Al Ghandi General
Trading (Philips),and various contracting, freight,
real estate and construction companies. He is
currently Deputy Chairman of the Board for the Dubai
Commercial Bank, a board member of the Zayed Program
for Housing, and a member of the Dubai Economic
Council. He serves on a committee responsible for
resolving rental disputes between landlords and
tenants in Dubai. He was born on June 15, 1943.

WAHBA