Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MANAMA206
2005-02-14 13:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

EB SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE MERMOUD DISCUSSES

Tags:  ECON BEXP EIND ETRD BA 
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141335Z Feb 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000206 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI/DBERNS AND EB/JFMERMOUD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2015
TAGS: ECON BEXP EIND ETRD BA
SUBJECT: EB SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE MERMOUD DISCUSSES
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS WITH GOB AND BUSINESS LEADERS


Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000206

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI/DBERNS AND EB/JFMERMOUD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2015
TAGS: ECON BEXP EIND ETRD BA
SUBJECT: EB SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE MERMOUD DISCUSSES
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS WITH GOB AND BUSINESS LEADERS


Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. EB Special Representative Frank Mermoud met
with the Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Hassan Fakhro,
Ministry of Finance Director of Economic Planning Yousif
Hummood, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Bilateral
Relations Dr. Dhafer Al Umran, and American and Bahraini
business leaders in a February 1-2 visit to Bahrain. Mermoud
was the guest of honor at the AmCham's inaugural dinner event
where he advocated resolving outstanding issues related to
formal accreditation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Mermoud reaffirmed the President's vision to establish a
Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by 2013, and stated that
Bahrain was the pillar in the Gulf region for MEFTA.
Indicating continued GOB efforts to shore up its relationship
with Saudi Arabia, Al Umran asked for U.S. support in gaining
Saudi buy-in on the U.S.-Bahrain FTA. End Summary.


2. (C) In his meeting with Fakhro, Mermoud said Bahrain was
a strong pillar in the President's vision to establish a
MEFTA by 2013. Fakhro noted the King had recently commented
on the strength of the U.S.-Bahrain relationship in a message
to President Bush. Fakhro mentioned what he perceived as
Washington's beneficial focus on "economic diplomacy," saying
that the governments can establish the framework, but it is
up to the private sectors to reap the rewards. Fakhro and
Mermoud agreed on the importance of a strategy to expand our
bilateral economic and commercial relationship and that the
FTA was a step in the right direction. In response to
Mermoud's question, Fakhro said Saudi Arabia's negative
reaction to the U.S.-Bahrain FTA could reflect Saudi
uneasiness with other GCC countries acting on their own in
the bilateral arena. The Ambassador requested an update on
the status of a possible Crown Prince visit to Washington.
Fakhro said he had mentioned it to the King and would get
back to us when he had more information.


3. (SBU) The AmCham launched their first official dinner
event and honored Mermoud. Minister Fakhro, the Ambassador,
the head of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as
well as other prominent business leaders attended. The
AmCham also took advantage of Mermoud's presence and invited
members of its rival group - American Association of Bahrain
(AAB),an organization with whom there has been recent
tension as both parties applied for U.S. Chamber
accreditation as the AmCham of Bahrain. The AmCham
distributed glossy, professional pamphlets on the
organization and the FTA. Mermoud's visit served as a
catalyst to bring the AmCham and the AAB together for the
first time in almost a year. The very next day, the AAB
agreed in principle to join the AmCham as a group and to
merge the two into one organization.


4. (SBU) In his meeting with Mermoud, Ministry of Finance
(MOF) Director Yousif Hummood addressed the BMENA Networking
of Funds initiative. He stated that it is still in the
research phase and that Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed Al
Khalifa would address moving the project forward during his
call with Treasury U/S Taylor. (NOTE. Post understands the
call took place shortly after the meeting. END NOTE).
Hummood also noted that the MOF would receive a team from
Oman to share FTA negotiation experiences, like they did with
the UAE and Yemen. Mermoud congratulated Hummood on
Bahrain's position as a regional leader in free trade.
Hummood said Bahrain learned early on that, "small economies
have no chance to grow unless they are open."


5. (C) MFA Director Al Umran asked for U.S. support in
gaining Saudi buy-in on the U.S.-Bahrain FTA. Umran said
that he had been tasked by the Crown Prince to come up with a
strategy to politically "sell the FTA to the Saudis." He
emphasized that Bahrain is committed to the FTA, but wondered
if there was a way for the U.S. to address Saudi concerns.
He asked if the U.S. could set up a qualifying industrial
zone (QIZ) in Saudi Arabia under the umbrella of the
U.S.-Bahrain FTA. Mermoud stated that Jordan was a special
case. He also noted that the U.S. would be willing to engage
with any country that was willing to engage with us on trade
issues. In their discussions with Mermoud, business leaders
noted that they did not fully understand the benefits of the
FTA and requested more information on how to use the FTA to
better promote trade and investment.

MONROE