MAY 25 MEETING OF EMBASSY'S INSTITUTIONS OF

UNCLAS CAIRO 004028 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR NEA, NEA/ELA, NEA/PI USAID FOR ANE (GOLD) AND DCHA/DG (KAUFMAN) TUNIS FOR MULREAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KDEM KMPI PGOV PREL KPAO EG KIIP SUBJECT: MAY 25 MEETING OF EMBASSY'S INSTITUTIONS OF DEMOCRACY WORKING GROUP (IDWG) REF: CAIRO 3841 Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) The Charge chaired the May 25 IDWG meeting, which was attended by the Acting DCM; USAID D&G staff; PA Counselor and PA staff; and ECPO staff. IDWG participation was limited to cleared Americans only to permit discussion of the status of post's submission to the Department for use in developing the Democracy Reform Strategy to Support Freedom in Egypt. ECPO advised the IDWG members that the Department is currently reviewing post's submission and using elements of it to develop a coordinated strategy document to guide USG support for democracy in Egypt. ¶2. (SBU) USAID reviewed progress of grant applications made in response to its Annual Program Statement (APS). USAID noted that in addition to the more than 50 applications received thus far, it was expecting an application in the next few days from NDI. USAID did not have any additional information about a grant application by IRI. USAID discussed the relative merits of briefing the next meeting (on May 31) of the joint US-Egyptian Consultative Group on direct funding of democracy support about the goal of getting NDI and IRI operational in Egypt. ¶3. (SBU) The Charge briefed the IDWG on an appeal from Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak to PDAS Cheney, during the latter's May 23-24 visit to Cairo, for USG support for a training course for Egyptian librarians. The Acting DCM undertook to follow up with Mrs. Mubarak's staff regarding the submission of a formal proposal requesting USG support for the librarian training initiative. Public Affairs Counselor noted that IIP colleagues in the Department and at the Information Resource Center in the Embassy may be able to serve as resources for this project. 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