RESPONSE TO SECRETARY'S RABAT INVITATION

UNCLAS MUSCAT 002145 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/PI, NEA/ARPI ABU DHABI FOR MEPI:HWECHSEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMPI KDEM KPAO PREL ECON OPDC SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO SECRETARY'S RABAT INVITATION REF: SECSTATE 251371 ¶1. In response to reftel letter from Secretary Powell to G-8 and Broader Middle East and North Africa foreign ministers, the Embassy received December 8 a reply letter from Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah to the Secretary under cover of a diplomatic note. The text is as follows: December 5, 2004 Dear Secretary Powell, Thank you very much for your message of November 27 concerning the Forum for the Future conference in Rabat on December 11. I regret very much I am unable to attend myself, but I am glad to say I will be represented by my Undersecretary, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al-Busaid, and my colleague Minister for National Economy Ahmed Macki will be represented by his Secretary General, Mohammed al Khusaibi. May I take this opportunity to express our firm support for the Forum for the Future and its objectives. We believe modernization and development are important policy objectives that can help bring peace and prosperity to the Middle East. We are most grateful for the efforts of the governments of the United States and Morocco in organizing the conference, and in particular I would like to express my thanks to you for your strong personal commitment to this initiative. With very best wishes for a successful conference, Yours sincerely, /s/ Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs (end text.) ¶2. The diplomatic note gave no indication of how the signed original will be transmitted. The Embassy will forward a fax copy of the Minister's letter to NEA/ARPI. BALTIMORE