OMAN GOES PUBLIC WITH FTA PLANS

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000257

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS),NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY)
USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/AMESA/OME/MTALAAT
STATE PLEASE PASS USTR/JBUNTIN AND JFENNERTY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON KPRV EIND ETRD PREL OPRC KPAO MU
SUBJECT: OMAN GOES PUBLIC WITH FTA PLANS



1. This is an action request for USTR. Please see para 5.

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Commerce Minister Publicly Touts FTA Negotiations
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2. On February 13, in an annual address to celebrate the
achievements of Oman in commerce and industry, Minister of
Commerce and Industry (MOCI) Maqbool bin Ali Sultan took the
opportunity to publicly affirm Oman's commitment to sign a
free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. In his
most public declaration to date, Maqbool went on to tell the
business community that "serious negotiations" will begin
with the arrival of the first U.S. negotiating team in March.
When asked about Saudi Arabia's objection to a similar FTA
with Bahrain, Maqbool replied, "They have got a reason. Oman
has decided to go ahead and sign the FTA with the United
States."


3. During a subsequent meeting with the Oman Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (OCCI) February 14, Maqbool reiterated
Oman's firm intention to proceed with FTA negotiations,
reminding the group present that the MOCI held numerous
meetings with OCCI participation to discuss each and every
sector of the FTA before deciding to enter into negotiations.
In response to criticism that an FTA should be negotiated
with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) collectively rather
than with member states bilaterally, Maqbool reminded the
group that negotiating with an economic bloc like the GCC
could take years. Moreover, the FTA will cover not only
commodities but also services and other matters not yet
governed by GCC unified legislation. Declaring his support
for the negotiations, the President of the OCCI, Salim bin
Said al-Ghattami, said that a successful FTA with the U.S.
will "open up prospects for investment cooperation and
expanding trade exchange and free flow of commodities and
services between the two countries."

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Internet Public Remains Skeptical
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4. The unexpected announcements received relatively wide
coverage as the lead story in the English-language paper
"Oman Daily Observer", and the Arabic-language daily
"Al-Watan." Reactions in the Omani Internet chatroom
Al-Sablah, however, were uniformly negative, with responses
condemning the FTA as entirely in America's interest and
questioning what "free" really means in the context of an
FTA.

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Action Request
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5. In an effort to address the heightened public interest,
as well as to take advantage of the unusual momentum garnered
by these public statements, the Embassy requests that USTR
coordinate directly with the Embassy's Public Affairs Office
to provide outreach materials, fact sheets, and success
stories to disseminate to the local business and media
community, as well as to interested ministry officials in
advance of the upcoming negotiations March 11-14.


6. Public Affairs Officer: Charles G. Cole, Tel:
968-24-698-989 ext. 433; Fax: 968-24-699-771; E-mail
colecg@state.gov. Assistant Public Affairs Officer: Lia
Miller, Tel: 968-24-698-989 ext. 434; E-mail
MillerLN@state.gov.
BALTIMORE