VISIT OF CODEL DAVIS TO EGYPT, SEPTEMBER 2-5:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006877

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015
TAGS: OVIP PREL PGOV EG IS KPAL KWBG IZ OREP
SUBJECT: VISIT OF CODEL DAVIS TO EGYPT, SEPTEMBER 2-5:
MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER NAZIF

Classified by DCM Stuart E. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Prime Minister Nazif told visiting members of
Congress that Egypt's September 7 presidential elections
represent major milestone in Egypt's democratic development.
He said that the GOE could not overrule the independent
electoral commission's decision to bar outside observers from
the polls. Nazif highlighted Egypt's economic reforms and
pressed for a rapid start to free trade agreement
negotiations. He urged that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza be
followed with substantial material help for the Palestinians
and pressed for Iraq's Sunnis to be given "another chance" to
join the democratic process. End summary.


2. (U) House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis
(R-VA) met Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif at the latter's Smart
Village office on September 4. Chairman Davis was
accompanied by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA),Rep. Al Wynn (D-MD),
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH),Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),and
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL),the Ambassador, the DCM,
Congressional staffers John Cuaderes, Ron Martinson, and
Frederick Hill, and ECPO notetaker. Attending the meeting on
the Egyptian side were Trade and Industry Minister Rachid
Rachid, Nazif Chief of Staff Sami Saad Zaghloul, Spokesman
Magdy Rady and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the
Americas Ambassador Aly Hefny.

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Economics and Assistance
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3. (SBU) The meeting opened with mutual expressions of
condolence, with Nazif offering assistance in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina and members of the CODEL presenting a copy
of the House resolution condemning the July 23 terror attack
in Sharm el Sheikh. Nazif highlighted his 14-month-old
government's economic reform efforts, specifically pointing
to corporate tax cuts, new customs rules and a more
investor-friendly bureaucracy. He noted that the U.S. is
Egypt's most important trade partner, and pressed hard for
announcement of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations to
deepen the commercial relationship. Nazif dismissed
criticism of U.S. assistance. He made a particularly strong
push for continued military assistance, arguing that such aid
is "essential for stability, confidence, and to combat
terror."


4. (SBU) Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid added that an
FTA would both reinforce the GOE's reform efforts and draw
foreign investment. While recognizing how difficult it had
been to get Congressional approval of CAFTA, Rachid said that
he had gotten strong statements of support for an Egypt FTA
from USTR Portman and other Administration officials during
his recent visit to Washington. He pressed for the
Administration to let Congress know within two months of its
intention to start FTA negotiations. Rachid also noted that
450 Egyptian companies were benefitting from the Qualifying
Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement with Israel.

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Regional Issues
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5. (C) It is important, Nazif said, that Palestinians
understand that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza is the start of
a process, not the end of one. After noting the efforts
Egypt had made to facilitate Israel's withdrawal, Nazif
emphasized that Gazans must see material benefits from the
withdrawal, particularly economic benefits, to give
Palestinians a stake in the process.


6. (C) Nazif described Iraq as "a chicken and egg problem:"
security is needed for democracy to take root, but only if
the democratic experiment succeeds will those who are
currently causing instability be persuaded to forego
violence. Nazif warned that Iraq could "disintegrate," and
urged the USG to be inclusive and give the Sunnis another
chance to join the political process. Rep. Issa argued that
previous Egyptian promises to be helpful on Iraq had not led
anywhere and he pressed the GOE to urge other Arab leaders to
offer concrete help during the upcoming U.N. meeting on Iraq.

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Democracy
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7. (C) Nazif called the CODEL's attention to "big changes"
on Egypt's domestic political scene. He noted that this is
the first time Egypt's president has ever been in a
multi-candidate race and argued that all candidates are
getting equal time in state media. He described the
presidential election as Egypt's first step towards
democracy, not its last, and said that Egypt needed to get
more political parties and more women into parliament. Most
importantly, Nazif added, Egypt wants a peaceful and stable
democratic transition.

8. (C) Rep. Issa expressed strong concern that the GOE's
resistance to independent election observers was interfering
with what was otherwise an important democratic step forward
and urged the GOE leadership to speak out publicly in support
of independent observers. Nazif replied that he himself
favored observers, as did many in the government, but he
claimed that Egypt's judges feared observers would interfere
with the judges' role as guarantors of a free ballot. He
also deflected blame towards the Presidential Election
Commission (PEC),which was blocking observer access to
polling places. Nazif claimed that the PEC was independent
and could not be overruled. The GOE, he said, was doing
everything in its authority to assist observers, ordering the
Ministry of Information to disseminate widely information on
the location of polling places and the Ministry of Interior
(responsible for security at the polls) to permit observers
to come as close to the polls as the PEC will allow.

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Women's Rights and Credit Where It's Due
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9. (SBU) Rep. Maloney called Nazif's attention to press
reporting of a murder case in which a judge overturned an
appropriately harsh sentence and sentenced a man who murdered
his wife to only three years in prison. She noted that an
effective legal system was essential to attract foreign
investment and that reporting on the case raised questions
about the system's integrity. Nazif admitted that he was not
familiar with the specific case cited but promised to look
into it.


10. (SBU) Rep. Chabot recalled that, during a visit to Egypt
with Representative Wexler at the beginning of the year, he
had asked the GOE for three things: an active Egyptian role
in the peace process, return of the Egyptian ambassador to
Israel, and competitive elections. He expressed satisfaction
that the GOE had replied positively on all three steps. Rep.
Wynn added that the CODEL members had discussed starting an
Egypt caucus in the House, a proposal which drew a very
positive response from Nazif.


11. (U) CODEL Davis did not have an opportunity to clear
this message before departing Cairo.


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