UAE PLEDGES CONTINUED COOPERATION ON TIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000496 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2009 TAGS: PHUM PREL TC SUBJECT: UAE PLEDGES CONTINUED COOPERATION ON TIP Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba, reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (HBZ) on February 24 and discussed the recent visit of G/TIP Coordinator Mark Taylor to the UAE. HBZ said combatting trafficking in women is a priority for the UAEG and he pledged his cooperation with the USG. The meeting included an exchange on developments in the Abdul Qadeer Khan case that will be treated septel. The Ambassador and HBZ also discussed final preparations for the March 2 Strategic Partnership and NEC dedication ceremony. End summary. ¶2. (C) During a meeting with HBZ on February 24, the Ambassador provided a summary of G/TIP Coordinator Mark Taylor's recent visit to the UAE. The Ambassador said that the meetings with UAE officials were excellent and the discussion was open. With respect to the ban on underage and underweight camel jockeys, the Ambassador said that it was apparent that there is a serious effort to implement UAE regulations and there had been good cooperation from authorities of source countries. ¶3. (C) With regard to the trafficking in women issue, the Ambassador said that there were some differences in defining the problem and the discussions with law enforcement officials provided the opportunity for our delegation to clarify some of these issues. We hope to see more active involvement from the UAE law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting the traffickers. HBZ took this on board and said that combatting trafficking in women was the UAEG's priority as well because it is detrimental to our society and reputation. He encouraged more visitors from the U.S., as well as more training opportunities and greater law enforcement cooperation to tackle the problem. ¶5. (U) The Ambassador and HBZ briefly reviewed plans for the March 2 Strategic Partnership meeting, which HBZ's brother Abdullah, the Information and Culture Minister, would lead on the UAE side, and they previewed the NEC dedication ceremony. WAHBA