BAHRAIN PARTICIPATION IN G8 BMENA FORUM FOR THE

UNCLAS MANAMA 001747 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECON KMPI KDEM BA SUBJECT: BAHRAIN PARTICIPATION IN G8 BMENA FORUM FOR THE FUTURE CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 242059 ¶B. STATE 237054 Sensitive but unclassified (deliberative process); please protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador November 20 delivered Ref A and B G8/BMENA talking points and agendas to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar. Abdul Ghaffar said that Minister of Finance and National Economy Abdulla Saif would attend the December 11 meetings in Rabat, but it was not yet clear whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa or Abdul Ghaffar himself would accompany Saif. There was a chance Mohammed bin Mubarak would have to remain in Manama at the time of the Rabat meetings. In this case, Abdul Ghaffar would lead the "political" side of the Bahraini delegation. ¶2. (SBU) In a meeting on November 22 with the visiting U.S. Secretary of the Navy Minister Saif confirmed to the SIPDIS Ambassador that he would attend the Rabat meeting and that his staff was currently working on two papers: one on the Entrepreneurship Center and the other on the Network of Funds. During the meeting, Saif referred to his phone conversation the day before with Treasury Under Secretary Taylor, during which they discussed the Network of Funds initiative at length. (Note: In a separate meeting with EconOff on November 22, Yousif Humoud, Director of Economic Planning at the Ministry of Finance, said he expected Saif to present the Network of Funds paper at the Finance Ministers' break-out session. Governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa would also travel to Morocco to give the presentation on the Entrepreneurship Center, given the BMA's role in managing the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance, host to the new center. End Note) ¶3. (SBU) Abdul Ghaffar said that his government is concerned that momentum in the BMENA initiative could peter out under the British G8 presidency. He is very appreciative of President Bush's leadership and hopes that Prime Minister Blair demonstrates the same commitment. As a start, Blair could invite regional leaders to the next G8 summit. Abdul Ghaffar said that the initiative was important to demonstrate that the G8 countries, and in particular the U.S., are friends doing positive things for the peoples of the region. ¶4. (SBU) Abdul Ghaffar stated that Bahrain would host the 2005 Forum for the Future meeting. The Ambassador responded that Secretary Powell had noted the Bahraini offer to host during his meeting with BMENA and G8 foreign ministers on the margins of the UNGA, but the issue appeared not to be settled yet. Abdul Ghaffar replied that he had confirmed information that Bahrain would host the 2005 meeting, but this news was not yet public. MONROE