APRIL 3 VISIT TO ISMAILIA: "ACTIVATING" THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002792

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

FOR IRM/BPC/EDIP; ALSO FOR IIP, NEA/PPD, AND NEA/ELA
USTR FOR SAUMS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINT ETRD KWWW PREL TINT EG
SUBJECT: APRIL 3 VISIT TO ISMAILIA: "ACTIVATING" THE
VIRTUAL CONSULATE

REF: A. CAIRO 669

B. 04 CAIRO 1397

Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

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Summary
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1. (U) The Charge on April 3 visited Ismailia, the Egyptian
governorate with which Embassy Cairo cooperates in running an
experimental Virtual Presence Post (VPP),or "Virtual
Consulate" (reftels). The Governorate's expanded engagement
with the project, coupled with enhanced participation on the
part of various Embassy sections, made possible a mutually
productive exchange between Emboffs and local government and
business officials on ways to realize the VPP's potential for
cooperation and communication between the Embassy and the
Governorate. End summary.

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Introductory meeting: activating the VPP
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2. (U) General Sabry Abdel Salam Ibrahim al-'Adawy,
Governor of Ismailia, and his immediate staff received the
Charge and Emboffs - including, for the first time as part of
a VPP delegation, Embassy Commercial and Agricultural
Attaches - in the Governor's office. The Governor emphasized
his desire to better channel and develop Ismailia's potential
for development in the industrial, agricultural, educational,
and tourist domains, and explained his goal of using the VPP
project to "market" Ismailia to investors. He also noted his
interest in forming a computer center that would function as
a one-stop shop for Ismailians interested in various
e-government, Internet, and computer initiatives from across
GOE ministries, and he hoped the VPP would be part of this.
The Charge expressed his satisfaction with the progress to
date of the VPP project and congratulated the Governor on the
registration by the Governorate Data Center of the Ismailia
official website in February as the VPP's local counterpart.
The Charge and the Governor agreed that the Embassy and the
Governorate of Ismailia must work together to activate the
potential of the VPP for cooperation and communication, and
the Governor was pleased to accept the Charge's invitation
for Governorate personnel from the Data Center to visit the
Embassy for mutually beneficial training and consultations.


3. (SBU) Comment: The GOE did not designate Ismailia as a
participant in the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ)
agreement signed in December 2004. Ismailian disappointment
over the QIZ colored our preparations for the Charge's visit
as several local officials demonstrated unusual,
scarcely-concealed hostility during and following Emboffs'
advance trip. We were pleasantly surprised that the issue
did not affect the visit itself: although the Governor
raised the issue, he did not blame the USG for the GOE's
failure to designate Ismailia. He seemed satisfied with the
Charge's explanation that USTR was aware of the GOE's
interest in possibly expanding the number of zones in the
future. End comment.

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Expanded discussion of the VPP (and nothing but)
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4. (U) Following the meeting in the Governor's office, all
participants moved to a larger conference room where
representatives of the Data Center, the business community,
and the media were gathered to discuss the VPP. The Data
Center led with a presentation on the content of the Ismailia
web site, demonstrating the progress the governorate has made
over the course of the last few months. Data Center
representatives expounded upon the potential use of the web
site for investors seeking data, tourists in search of travel
information, and ordinary citizens needing government
services for paying taxes, checking real estate data, etc.
Comment: The progress is nothing short of remarkable; the
governorate had done relatively little on their end until the
registration of the site in February. End comment.


5. (U) Post's FSN web master responded with a similar
presentation on the VPP, after which the Charge invited
meeting participants to express ideas on how to translate the
VPP idea into more tangible benefits for the American and
Egyptian people. Most speakers related their comments to the
VPP, raising questions about how to advertise the VPP for
U.S. and Egyptian audiences. Private business participants
also focused on how to make appropriate Embassy contacts and
establish relations with U.S. firms, whether via the VPP or
otherwise; Embassy Commercial and Agricultural attaches were
on hand to respond. The Governor kept firm control over the
proceedings, dismissing questions from his constituents that
strayed from the VPP discussion.

6. (SBU) Toward the close of the session, the Charge
expressed willingness to take questions from the assembled
press corps. However, when a reporter responded by asking a
question about the USG "imposing democracy" in the Middle
East, the Governor informed him that questions would be
limited to the VPP issue, effectively shutting off dialogue
with the journalists.

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And now a word from our sponsor
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7. (U) Following the expanded session, the Charge took
advantage of a one-on-one television interview to underscore
his satisfaction with the VPP and touted the dialogue between
Ismailia and the Embassy. He noted the importance of getting
out the word on the VPP to Egyptian and American audiences
and repeated the web address(http://ismailia.usvpp.gov) for
viewers to log on. The Charge and Emboffs then proceeded
from the Governorate headquarters to an Internet cafe, where
television cameras recorded the Charge demonstrating how to
use the VPP for a cafe patron and asking others questions
about their use of the Internet. Note: Comparing March and
April statistics to date, we have logged a 40% increase in
daily hits on the VPP site since the visit. End note.


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