PDAS CHENEY DISCUSSES REFORM, TIP AND TRADE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 002947

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2010
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD KMPI PHUM TC
SUBJECT: PDAS CHENEY DISCUSSES REFORM, TIP AND TRADE

REF: STATE 99833

Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: During NEA Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary Cheney's visit to the UAE June 26-27, she had an

SIPDIS
opportunity to speak to different audiences about political
reform, trafficking in persons, and economic issues. Cheney
emphasized that to fully empower its citizens, the UAE
Government needed to guarantee political freedom and
democracy, and also boost economic development. Her
interlocutors said Emiratis needed to be educated about their
civic responsibilities first. Cheney encouraged the UAEG to
move on the G/TIP action plan to improve its chances of
getting a favorable reassessment that will move the UAE off
the list of Tier 3 countries. She noted that the main
impediment to concluding a U.S.-UAE Free Trade Agreement was
the UAE's labor situation and its human trafficking problem.
Cheney also had the opportunity to speak with Emirati
officials, academics, and journalists about Dubai's important
economic role, and to tour a pair of colleges and speak with
some students and school administrators in Abu Dhabi. End
Summary.

POLITICAL REFORM
--------------


2. (U) On June 26, PDAS Cheney and the Ambassador hosted a
dinner for 12 prominent Emirati business people, journalists,
academics, and civil society leaders. Present at the dinner
was Sultan bin Sulayem (SBS),a top lieutenant of Dubai Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and the CEO of Dubai Ports,
Customs, and Free Zone Corporation. On June 27, Cheney and
the Ambassador met again with SBS and continued their
discussion from the night before.


3. (C) Addressing USG efforts to encourage political reform
in the UAE, President of the UAE Businesswomen's Association
Raja Al Gurg and other dinner guests expressed concerns about
"trying to run before they could walk." They said citizens
need to understand the responsibilities that go with
democracy before participating in elections, or else a
corrupt or pandering government would be elected. Cheney
responded that the USG considered elections a necessary but
not sufficient condition for democracy, and she fully
supported efforts at building civil society and institutions
associated with public participation in government. Noting
that the President had admitted the USG's error in supporting
"stability over democracy" in its relations with the Arab
world for the past 60 years, Cheney told the guests that this
was no longer the case.


4. (C) SBS argued strongly that the key to a thriving and
happy citizenry was not democracy but rather economic
development. He said that in the end, people really wanted
prosperity and fairness. Prosperous and educated citizens
would vote more for the long-term interests of the country
rather than for the politician that promised food on their
plates and other handouts. He brought up the low levels of
corruption in the UAE as both a factor in the UAE's economic
success and a source of fairness in the society. (Note:
According to Transparency International's "Corruption
Perception Index," which ranks countries from least to most
perceived corruption, the UAE ranked 29th out of 145
countries.) SBS said that people in the UAE were happy and
rarely talked about political issues, but that corruption in
Saudi Arabia and especially Iran, where people are not happy,
was "unbelievable." "I have never seen corruption like in
Iran," he said. Cheney agreed with SBS on the importance of
economic development, but added that the right of citizens to
govern themselves, freedom of the press, and other political
freedoms were equally important to provide hope and
opportunity for young people and decrease terrorists' ability
to recruit.

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
--------------


5. (U) Cheney used her visit to a Camel Jockey Rehabilitation
Center in Abu Dhabi Emirate June 26 to encourage the UAEG to
move on the G/TIP action plan to demonstrate that it is
making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance
with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking
in persons. Cheney told Labor Minister Al Kaabi that it was
imperative that the UAE have a camel jockey law on the books
and then proceeds to prosecute traffickers.


6. (U) The Labor Minister and Abu Dhabi Police officials led
Cheney and the Ambassador on a visit of the camel jockey
shelter that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
had established on the Zayed Military City army base in
December 2004. The shelter, one of two facilities for
rescued camel jockeys operated by the Abu Dhabi Police Social
Support Center, reported having 44 boys over the age of 12
the day of Cheney,s visit. In May, the local government
opened a second shelter in Abu Dhabi's Al Mafraq suburb
adjacent to a youth correctional facility. As of June 26,
the Al Mafraq shelter reported having 165 boys age 12 and
below. On June 27, the police transferred the children from
the Al Mafraq shelter to a more spacious school compound in
Abu Dhabi's Bani Yas suburb.

LABOR AND THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
--------------


7. (C) During the June 27 dinner, Cheney told her guests that
the UAE's labor situation and its camel jockey problem were
issues under discussion in the ongoing U.S.-UAE FTA
negotiations. Several dinner guests, including Essa Al
Ghurair, a leading member of a prominent Dubai merchant
family, wondered why the USG was insisting on labor unions as
a condition of FTA instead of allowing a more gradual
process. SBS added that the focus should be on how workers
were treated rather than on unions. He explained that in
Jebel Ali Free Zone, which he runs, workers are happy, well
taken care of, and paid on time. Cheney agreed that labor
conditions were important, then explained that the freedom of
association and the right to collective bargaining were core
labor standards of the International Labor Organization.


8. (C) SBS said that the UAE, and Dubai in particular,
depended on and was built on free trade. He worried that in
the trade negotiations the USG was equating the UAE with Oman
or Jordan. "Think of us like Singapore. We are traders," he
said. Cheney replied that the USG was treating each FTA
negotiation separately, and negotiating each item one-by-one.
SBS stressed that when it came to cooperation with the US,
the UAE was always first, whether in fighting terrorism or in
Dubai's decision to be the first Middle East customs
organization to sign the Department of Homeland Security's
Container Security Initiative and later the Department of
Energy's Megaports Initiative. Ambassador urged SBS to work
with federal and emirate level officials to move draft export
control legislation forward. Cheney thanked SBS for his
support and cooperation on critical transshipment issues.

DUBAI,S ECONOMY
--------------


9. (C) Cheney asked SBS where he saw Dubai five years from
now. SBS said that Dubai was capitalizing on the regional
situation, but that it had its own personality. SBS said
that instead of making five- or ten-year plans, Dubai focused
on what worked in the market. He said that the government
concentrated on practical improvements. Cheney asked him
whether he was concerned that Dubai was becoming
over-developed. SBS explained that Dubai was not just
serving itself, but was serving the whole region, including
India, Iran, and East Africa. He admitted that growth rates
of 25-30 percent were causing problems, such as difficulty in
finding enough qualified workers quickly. (Note: Dubai's
official statistics state that Dubai's 2004 nominal GDP
growth was 17 percent.) SBS thought that growth could not
continue as fast as now, but he thought Dubai had at least
another 15 years of strong growth ahead. "But if the region
does not grow, we won't grow," he added.


10. (C) Cheney told SBS that the UAE's accomplishments were
very impressive, and that Dubai was in some ways a model for
the region. SBS said that he and Dubai Ports and Customs were
already playing a large role in helping Djibouti and
elsewhere. Under Dubai's management, Djibouti port had grown
substantially, earning the Djibouti government $8 million a
year compared to $1 million before Dubai Ports took over. He
said that Dubai Customs had brought 40 Djibouti Customs
officials to Dubai for six months of training, and had
recently completed computerizing its records system, thereby
increasing transparency. Under Dubai's management, Saudi's
Jeddah port had gone from 800,000 containers a year up to two
million. He said that Rwanda had requested the same kind of
assistance as well.

EDUCATION
--------------


11. (U) In Abu Dhabi on June 26, Cheney accompanied Minister
of Education Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan to the
Higher Colleges of Technology Abu Dhabi Men's College and to
Zayed University (a federal women's university in Abu Dhabi).
At the Higher Colleges of Technology Sheikh Nahyan gave
Cheney a tour of the campus and highlighted the university's
impressive advanced technology, such as interactive, on-line
classrooms and courses. Sheikh Nahyan explained that the
Higher Colleges of Technology offers students both higher
diplomas (similar to three-year Associate of Arts degrees)
and bachelor's degrees. At Zayed University (ZU),Cheney met
and presented certificates to four women professionals who
have received MEPI-funded scholarships to pursue a two-year
new master's degree program in Educational Leadership. She
also visited with 11 ZU Student Ambassadors. Two of the
Student Ambassadors met Cheney three years ago when they were
in the U.S. for the first Young Ambassador's Program at
Fairleigh Dickinson University. They told Cheney that the
program was a life-changing experience, and that they have
returned to the U.S. many times since. On a tour of the ZU
campus, Cheney visited a classroom where high school girls in
a summer educational program were studying English.


12. (U) This message was prepared jointly by Embassy Abu
Dhabi and Consulate General Dubai, and was cleared by PDAS
Cheney.
SISON