FTA ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM STILL ON A FAST TRACK

UNCLAS AMMAN 005405 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA/ARN, OES/ENV - C. RICHARD STATE ALSO FOR OES/PCI - C. TURNER AND E. SHAW PASS TO USTR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ECON KTIA PREL JO SUBJECT: FTA ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM STILL ON A FAST TRACK ¶1. This is an action cable. See last paragraph. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador on June 28 paid a farewell call on Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and Minister of Environment Alia Hattough-Bouran in which she raised the FTA Environmental Forum. (NOTE: The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement included a side-letter "Joint Statement on Environmental Technical Cooperation" calling for the establishment of a Joint Forum on Environmental Technical Cooperation. At the FTA Joint Committee, held June 8 in Washington, D.C., both Jordan and the U.S. had agreed to hold the first Environmental Forum in July. END NOTE.) ¶3. (SBU) Minister Bouran expressed her ministry's continued commitment to host the first Environmental Forum in Jordan this July. She mentioned information that she had received indicating Washington might wish to delay the forum until the fall. She asked the Ambassador to clarify the dates, as she was keeping her calendar in the second half of July open in order to hold the forum. Ambassador reassured her of the Embassy's willingness to support the Forum in July and promised to check with Washington on the timing. ¶4. (SBU) ACTION REQUESTED: Embassy supports the decision taken in Washington during the JC to hold the Environmental Forum in July in Amman. Embassy requests that Department consult with the concerned agencies to determine if July remains a feasible date and, if so, to confirm a proposed date for the Environmental Forum so we in turn can reconfirm dates with Minister Bouran. GNEHM