BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE CHECK ON APPLICATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBAI 004995 SIPDIS SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/31/2016 TAGS: PK ETTC KOMC AE SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE CHECK ON APPLICATION 05-1001450 REF: A. A. STATE 115077 ¶B. B. 05 ABU DHABI 00203 CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L. Burns, Acting Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (e) 1.(C) Summary: On July 31, PolEconOff and Export Control Officer conducted ref A pre-license check on Transworld Aviation FZE. Ali Naaman, Director in charge of the UAE military portfolio and Hamid Asad Khan, Director Operations and Product Support, confirmed pending sales to the Pakistan Air Force for a variety of airplane and engine components and displayed one of many invoices as evidence. The invoice showed PAF official signatures, stamps, and approval. If questions exist about a specific part or component, TWA is willing to provide supporting documentation. Dubai considers this a favorable pre-license check. End summary. 2.(C) On July 31, PolEconOff and Export Control Officer (ECO) conducted ref A pre-license check on Transworld Aviation FZE (TWA). Ali Naaman, Director in charge of the UAE military portfolio provided background information on the company. He said Dubai-based TWA employs approximately 30 personnel and does business with military and commercial entities throughout the region, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen and Pakistan. He claimed that at Pakistan's IDEAS Airshow last year, TWA was approached by the Iranian government as a potential supplier of aircraft parts. Naaman said the company rejected the approach because "business with Iran would jeopardize all of our other business." 3.(C) Hamid Asad Khan, Director Operations and Product Support, is in charge of the company's Pakistan Air Force (PAF) portfolio. He and two other TWA employees (Yogesh Anchan -- Yemen military portfolio -- and Stephane Tillon -- Pakistan Navy portfolio) participated in the meeting to discuss ongoing projects. Khan confirmed pending sales to the PAF for a variety of airplane and engine components as part of its ongoing relationship. TWA has numerous orders from the PAF for US-origin parts, supplied through the US-based Triumph Group, rather than one 10 million dollar order per ref A. Khan selected an invoice at random from among two approximately 4-inch thick binders of invoices and displayed it as an example. The invoice showed PAF official signatures, stamps and approval. If questions exist about a specific part or component, TWA said it is willing to provide supporting documentation. 4.(C) This is the second pre-license check of TWA in two years (ref B) and from TWA employee questions and responses about US end-use regulations and licensing procedures, it is clear they seek to comply with and expedite the process. Dubai considers this a favorable pre-license check. BURNS