SUDAN: EGYPT TO SEND CABINET MEMBER TO OSLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002534 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID EFIN PHUM EG SU NO SUBJECT: SUDAN: EGYPT TO SEND CABINET MEMBER TO OSLO DONOR'S CONFERENCE AND MAY SOON HOST AFRICAN UNION'S DARFUR QUINTET GROUP REF: A. STATE 58860 (NOTAL) ¶B. STATE 56724 (NOTAL) Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The Charge met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit March 30 and raised the issue of the upcoming Sudan donors conference. Drawing on the points contained in ref B, the Charge stressed the importance of high-level Egyptian attendance at and support for the Oslo-hosted Sudan donors conference scheduled for April 12. Noting that Deputy Secretary Zoellick would represent the United States, the SIPDIS Charge requested that Egypt send a cabinet-level official to signal the importance that the GOE attached to the international gathering and to implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. Responding, the Foreign Minister stated that Fayza Aboulnaga, Minister of International Cooperation, would represent Egypt at this important conference. Other more junior officials would accompany her on the trip, he added. ¶2. (C) On March 31, poloff met with Abdel Monem Omar, MFA Deputy Office Director for Sudan Affairs to further discuss this subject and to deliver ref A demarche on the Oslo conference. Sharing talking points in the form of a non-paper, poloff requested that Egypt clarify its assistance to Sudan at the conference, and do what it could to assist the African Union's Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in addressing the Darfur crisis. Omar confirmed that Egypt would send Aboulnaga as its senior representative and other officials from different agencies involved in Sudan assistance programs. MFA Sudan Affairs Office Director Afifi Abdel Wahab will be among that group. While Egypt is actively engaged on Sudan, and has provided assistance for numerous projects in southern Sudan, Omar said that Egypt would not be making a financial contribution in Oslo but would describe its various projects there. ¶3. (C) Poloff also met March 31 with Hesham Afifi, Africa watcher on Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit's personal staff, to share ref B demarche regarding high-level attendance at the Oslo donors conference. During that conversation, Afifi (protect) revealed that Egypt would host 29 African heads of state in Sharm El Sheikh April 19 for a meeting of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NePAD) leadership implementation committee. Furthermore, he said, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would arrive in Cairo for bilateral discussions April 16, staying on for the NePAD meetings. A potential meeting of heads of state from the African Union's Darfur Quintet (Egypt, Chad, Libya, Nigeria, and Sudan) immediately following the NePAD meeting is also under consideration. The Egyptian Foreign Minister was also looking to reschedule a visit to Eritrea during the second half of April, Afifi said. ¶4. (U) Khartoum minimize considered. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. GRAY