Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04ABUDHABI4719
2004-12-22 11:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:
UAE PERSPECTIVE ON GCC SUMMIT
how-tonull Diana T Fritz 12/19/2006 04:37:10 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results Cable Text: C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 04719 SIPDIS CXABU: ACTION: ECON INFO: POL P/M AMB DCM DISSEMINATION: ECON CHARGE: PROG APPROVED: CDA:RALBRIGHT DRAFTED: POL:JMAYBURY,ECON:OJ CLEARED: NONE VZCZCADI845 OO RUEHC RUEHZM RUEHDE RHEHNSC DE RUEHAD #4719 3571153 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 221153Z DEC 04 FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7401 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 4659 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 004719
SIPDIS
PASS TO USTR DOUG BELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2009
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD GCC TC
SUBJECT: UAE PERSPECTIVE ON GCC SUMMIT
REF: ABU DHABI 4655
(U) Classified by Richard A. Albright, reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 004719
SIPDIS
PASS TO USTR DOUG BELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2009
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD GCC TC
SUBJECT: UAE PERSPECTIVE ON GCC SUMMIT
REF: ABU DHABI 4655
(U) Classified by Richard A. Albright, reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
1. (C) Summary: New UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan closed the GCC summit, named after his late father
Sheikh Zayed, by inviting his fellow leaders to Abu Dhabi for
the 26th GCC Summit in December 2005. According to local
press and UAEG officials, the GCC dodged the contentious
issue of the Bahrain - U.S. FTA by "kicking it back to
(ministerial) committee." UAEG officials told us that they
had disagreed with the Saudi decision to raise the issue to a
political level rather than solving it as a technical
problem. The UAE and Qatar also announced their agreement to
build a causeway linking Abu Dhabi with Qatar and the GCC
reiterated its support for UAE sovereignty over the three
islands occupied by Iran. End Summary.
2. (C) Ministry of Economy Assistant Under Secretary for
International Cooperation Abdullah Al Saleh, who had attended
the summit, told EconChief that there had been absolutely no
progress on resolving the issue of member-states' bilateral
FTAs with the U.S. He stressed that no one in the UAEG had
wanted the leaders to discuss an issue that had not been
worked out in advance. He noted, however, that GCC leaders
ultimately did discuss the FTA issue in an executive session
and decided to pass it back to ministers for action. He
noted those ministers had not been able to find a technical
solution and had passed the problem to their superiors. He
added, however, that he saw a number of relatively easy
technical solutions to the problem. One possible solution,
he suggested, would be to insert a clause into a bilateral
FTA asserting that goods brought into a country duty free
under the FTA would not be eligible for duty free shipment to
other members of the GCC Customs Union.
3. (C) Khalid Al Bustani, Assistant Under Secretary for
Revenue and Budget at the Ministry of Finance, who had not
attended the summit, told EconChief that he thought every
state but Saudi Arabia backed Bahrain's decision to sign a
bilateral FTA with the U.S. He referred to the press reports
that the summit had sent the FTA issue back to the ministers
to discuss. Repeating a common theme here, he added that the
subject should never have been raised to a political level in
the first place, and that Saudi Arabia's concerns over
customs revenue could be solved as a technical matter. Both
Al Bustani and Al Saleh underscored that their ministries are
busily preparing for the upcoming FTA negotiations with the
U.S.
4. (C) Yousef Al Otaiba, special advisor to Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, commented to Charge
December 21 that everyone in the GCC understood perfectly
well that it would be a long time before Saudi Arabia was
ready for an FTA. He likened Saudi behavior on the issue to
that of a child excluded from a game who was trying to ruin
it for everyone else. He shrugged, saying, "The Saudis are
just like that sometimes."
5. (C) The "Zayed Summit" concluded with leaders reaffirming
their support for the UAE in the dispute with Iran over three
islands, occupied by Iran. Papers quoted the summit final
statement saying "the islands are an inseparable part of the
UAE." Additionally, the GCC general secretariat announced a
decision to build a causeway linking Abu Dhabi in Qatar to
facilitate road travel between the two states. (Note: This
is the first we have heard of this project. End note)
6. (U) Next year,s GCC summit will be held in Abu Dhabi.
The 2004 GCC Summit was to have been held in Abu Dhabi. The
official story is that Bahrain asked the UAEG to host the
summit, but our understanding is that the opposite occured.
Then President Sheikh Zayed,s failing health and significant
delays in completing the Conference Palace Hotel and related
infrastructure had made it inconvenient for Abu Dhabi to host
this year.
ALBRIGHT
SIPDIS
PASS TO USTR DOUG BELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2009
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD GCC TC
SUBJECT: UAE PERSPECTIVE ON GCC SUMMIT
REF: ABU DHABI 4655
(U) Classified by Richard A. Albright, reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
1. (C) Summary: New UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan closed the GCC summit, named after his late father
Sheikh Zayed, by inviting his fellow leaders to Abu Dhabi for
the 26th GCC Summit in December 2005. According to local
press and UAEG officials, the GCC dodged the contentious
issue of the Bahrain - U.S. FTA by "kicking it back to
(ministerial) committee." UAEG officials told us that they
had disagreed with the Saudi decision to raise the issue to a
political level rather than solving it as a technical
problem. The UAE and Qatar also announced their agreement to
build a causeway linking Abu Dhabi with Qatar and the GCC
reiterated its support for UAE sovereignty over the three
islands occupied by Iran. End Summary.
2. (C) Ministry of Economy Assistant Under Secretary for
International Cooperation Abdullah Al Saleh, who had attended
the summit, told EconChief that there had been absolutely no
progress on resolving the issue of member-states' bilateral
FTAs with the U.S. He stressed that no one in the UAEG had
wanted the leaders to discuss an issue that had not been
worked out in advance. He noted, however, that GCC leaders
ultimately did discuss the FTA issue in an executive session
and decided to pass it back to ministers for action. He
noted those ministers had not been able to find a technical
solution and had passed the problem to their superiors. He
added, however, that he saw a number of relatively easy
technical solutions to the problem. One possible solution,
he suggested, would be to insert a clause into a bilateral
FTA asserting that goods brought into a country duty free
under the FTA would not be eligible for duty free shipment to
other members of the GCC Customs Union.
3. (C) Khalid Al Bustani, Assistant Under Secretary for
Revenue and Budget at the Ministry of Finance, who had not
attended the summit, told EconChief that he thought every
state but Saudi Arabia backed Bahrain's decision to sign a
bilateral FTA with the U.S. He referred to the press reports
that the summit had sent the FTA issue back to the ministers
to discuss. Repeating a common theme here, he added that the
subject should never have been raised to a political level in
the first place, and that Saudi Arabia's concerns over
customs revenue could be solved as a technical matter. Both
Al Bustani and Al Saleh underscored that their ministries are
busily preparing for the upcoming FTA negotiations with the
U.S.
4. (C) Yousef Al Otaiba, special advisor to Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, commented to Charge
December 21 that everyone in the GCC understood perfectly
well that it would be a long time before Saudi Arabia was
ready for an FTA. He likened Saudi behavior on the issue to
that of a child excluded from a game who was trying to ruin
it for everyone else. He shrugged, saying, "The Saudis are
just like that sometimes."
5. (C) The "Zayed Summit" concluded with leaders reaffirming
their support for the UAE in the dispute with Iran over three
islands, occupied by Iran. Papers quoted the summit final
statement saying "the islands are an inseparable part of the
UAE." Additionally, the GCC general secretariat announced a
decision to build a causeway linking Abu Dhabi in Qatar to
facilitate road travel between the two states. (Note: This
is the first we have heard of this project. End note)
6. (U) Next year,s GCC summit will be held in Abu Dhabi.
The 2004 GCC Summit was to have been held in Abu Dhabi. The
official story is that Bahrain asked the UAEG to host the
summit, but our understanding is that the opposite occured.
Then President Sheikh Zayed,s failing health and significant
delays in completing the Conference Palace Hotel and related
infrastructure had made it inconvenient for Abu Dhabi to host
this year.
ALBRIGHT