UAE RESPONSE TO IRAQ DEVELOPMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002175 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR S/I, NEA/I, AND NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2011 TAGS: PREL KPAO IZ AE SUBJECT: UAE RESPONSE TO IRAQ DEVELOPMENTS REF: A. STATE 81632 ¶B. ABU DHABI 2119 ¶C. ABU DHABI 2074 ¶D. ABU DHABI 2042 ¶E. E-MAIL FROM MAYBURY TO S/ES-O 5/22/06 Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) On May 24, DCM delivered points (ref A) to MFA U/S Abdullah Rashid al-Noaimi who noted FonMin Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan (AbZ)'s congratulatory phone call to the Iraqi FonMin. On the task before the new government in Iraq, al-Nuaimi expressed the hope that "they will get their act together." He mentioned that there had been no new word on the fate of the UAE diplomat kidnapped in Baghdad. ¶2. (U) Semi-official Arabic daily "Al Ittihad" and "Gulf News" frontpaged May 23 that AbZ telephoned Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, the previous day to congratulate him on the formation of the new Iraqi government and winning the parliamentary vote of confidence. He also wished the new government success in maintaining Iraq's unity and stability. ¶3. (U) AbZ reportedly thanked the Iraqi government for its efforts to assist in freeing kidnapped UAE diplomat Naji al-Nuaimi (refs B-E). "This is a difficult time for all of us in the UAE. Naji al-Nuaimi was playing a humanitarian role towards our Iraqi brethren. We are proud of the role that he was playing. Our hearts are with Naji. Our hearts also go out in sympathy to his family. It is a difficult experience for all of us ) his immediate family, his wider UAE family, as well as the larger expatriate community in the country," AbZ said at a joint press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Steinmeier. ¶4. (U) Editorials in May 24 Arabic dailies "Akhbar al-Arab" and "Al Khaleej" wished "all success and progress" to the new Iraqi government, calling for launching of "a process of comprehensive national dialogue" and first steps by the al-Maliki government "to convince all Iraqi factions of its credibility and intentions." Dubai-based Arabic daily "Al Bayan" took a different, more aggressive tack, casting doubt on the new Iraqi government's sovereignty while describing the rebuilding of Iraq as "the biggest game of financial fraud history has ever known." ¶5. (C) Meanwhile, the Iraqi Business Council (IBC) of Abu Dhabi and its counterpart organization in Dubai are jointly discussing with the Iraqi Embassy a possible celebration for Iraqi expatriates in the UAE (who number approximately 50,000),but all three lack the necessary funds, according to IBC Chairman Dr. Talib Khan. Khan asked if the Embassy had any ideas or sources of funds to help in this regard. Khan also told Polchief that he had received a "very nice response" from Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in response to the IBC's letter congratulating him on the new government. SISON