NOMINATIONS OF FIVE NEW CABINET MEMBERS ANNOUNCED

UNCLAS KABUL 003454 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/RA, SCA/A, S/CT NSC FOR AHARRIMAN CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 STATE PASS USAID FOR AID/ANE AND AID/CDHA/DG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR AF SUBJECT: NOMINATIONS OF FIVE NEW CABINET MEMBERS ANNOUNCED ¶1. (U) The nominations of five new cabinet members were announced by the Presidential Palace on the afternoon of August 2. The nominations are for the Ministries of Commerce, Culture and Information, Economy, Transportation, and Women's Affairs. ¶2. (SBU) The Minister of Commerce nominee is Dr. Mir Mohammad Amin Farhang. Farhang served as Minister of Economy until his nomination for that post was rejected by the Parliament. He may be rejected for this post as well. If he is confirmed, his lack of English language skills will make it difficult for him to run a technical Ministry staffed at the policy level largely by English-speaking consultants. His confirmation could set back Embassy efforts to advance priority commercial legislation which has predominantly been drafted in English. The Ministry of Economy basically floundered under his leadership, ending up essentially without a clear portfolio. ¶3. (SBU) The Minister of Culture and Information nominee is Abdul Karim Khurram. Khurram is currently an advisor to Karzai on media relations. He is seen as a close ally of Karzai. Khurram received an advanced degree in political economy in France and taught the same subject at Afghan University in Peshawar and had regular contacts with the United States Information Service there. Khurram is reported to have had ties to Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami under the early days of the Mujahideen movement. He is the brother of Engineer Abdul Rahim Khurram, another contact of the Public Affairs Section. ¶4. (SBU) The Minister of Economy nominee is Mohammad Jalil Shams. Shams is currently the Deputy Minister for Energy and Water. Generally regarded as a competent and hard-working administrator, his departure will be a big loss for the Ministry of Energy and Water. He has had serious health issues recently and only just returned from medical treatment in Switzerland for a heart condition. Shams participated in the recent US Trade and Development Agency regional conference on energy in Istanbul in June. He studied economics in Egypt and Germany in the 1960s. He is considered an able technocrat and is definitely someone willing to work with the Embassy. He speaks English. ¶5. (SBU) The Minister of Transportation nominee is Niamatullah Ehsan Jawid. Jawid is currently the Airport Manager at Kabul International Airport. He participated in our Fulbright Program from 2005 to 2006 at the University of Washington. He studied the economics of air transportation in Germany for his B.A. in the mid-1980s. He served at the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the late 80s and as the Transportation Director of the Ministry of Planning in the early 90s. From 2000 to 2003, he worked in mid-level administrative positions for UNAMA. He is well-known to the Embassy and generally pro-U.S. While he has a decent technical background, he is heavily indebted to and may be easily swayed by his political backers in Parliament. He is unlikely to make tough, unpopular (but necessary) decisions. ¶6. (SBU) The Minister of Women's Affairs nominee is Hassan Bano Ghanzanfar. Ghanzanfar, currently the Dean of the Literature Faculty of Kabul University comes from a wealthy Uzbek family from Mazar-e-Sharif. Ghanzanfar received a PhD in Russia in literature. She attended the Embassy's Independence Day celebrations in Western dress and expressed to several Emboffs her keenness to build her relationship with the U.S. Embassy. She has been active in the field of women's rights since the fall of the Taliban. NEUMANN