AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 7 MEETING WITH DEPUTY PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000358

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016
TAGS: PREL ETRD PHUM KNNP PTER OVIP KDEM KPAL BA REGION OFFICIALS BILAT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 7 MEETING WITH DEPUTY PRIME
MINISTER SHAIKH MOHAMMED BIN MUBARAK

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

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Summary
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1. (C) The Ambassador and Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak March 7 discussed Crown Prince Salman's
upcoming visit to Washington, elections in Bahrain,
trafficking in persons, and the anti-terrorism law. During
his March 19-21 visit, the CP will discuss the U.S.-Bahrain
Free Trade Agreement (FTA),Iran, Hamas, and Iraq. On Iran,
Shaikh Mohammed said he had met with Iranian Deputy Foreign
Minister Mostafawi earlier in the week and told him that Iran
must abide by IAEA instructions. Shaikh Mohammed said Hamas
had sent messages to the GOB about its interest in visiting
Manama. If Hamas comes, the GOB will state its support for
President Abbas and will call on Hamas to respect previous
agreements. On Iraq, Shaikh Mohammed said there needs to be
give-and-take at each stage of the process, but politicians
are not showing much interest in compromise. He praised
developments in Bahrain's political environment and said he
would push for progress in trafficking-in-persons and passage
of the anti-terrorism law. End Summary.

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Taking Advantage of FTA
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2. (C) The Ambassador met with Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa March 7 and discussed Crown
Prince Salman's upcoming visit to Washington, the FTA, Iran,
Hamas, Iraq, elections, trafficking in persons, and
counter-terrorism, among other issues. Shaikh Mohammed
confirmed that the CP will be in Washington March 19-21 and
told the Ambassador that the CP would want to discuss ways to
encourage business people to take advantage of the FTA, as
well as Iran, Hamas, and Iraq. He said that Commerce
Secretary Gutierrez's February 26-28 visit to Bahrain served

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to focus attention on the agreement, and the challenge now
was to make it work. He acknowledged that Bahrain still had
to complete implementing legislation, all related to
intellectual property rights, and said that the Cabinet had
transferred six IPR laws to parliament during its meeting
March 5.


3. (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that Dubai had surged ahead in
attracting foreign investment, but Bahrain hoped to use the
FTA to gain additional investment. He said the Crown Prince
would soon lay the cornerstone for an auto assembly plant in
Bahrain. The government was dealing seriously with the
unemployment problem. The Labor Minister was reaching out to
the unemployed and encouraging them to participate in the
national employment program. This was new for Bahrain, where
traditionally the citizens came to the government to make
requests. Shaikh Mohammed was proud that unemployment was no
longer a divisive issue in society due to the government's
efforts on the employment program.

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No Plans for King Visit to Iran
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4. (C) Shaikh Mohammed said the CP would also discuss Iran
during his Washington visit. He noted that he had met with
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Mostafawi earlier in
the week. Mostafawi delivered an invitation from President
Ahmadi-Nejad to King Hamad to visit Tehran. Shaikh Mohammed
told the Ambassador that the King had no plans to visit Iran
at this time.


5. (C) Shaikh Mohammed said he had raised the nuclear
program with Mostafawi. Bahrain's view is that each country
has the right to develop nuclear technology but no country
should develop nuclear weapons. He asserted that the IAEA
would be the judge of Iran's program and advised that Iran
use "its wisdom" and be very careful to follow IAEA
instructions. Mostafawi responded that Iran was not
developing a weapons program and would not be forced to rely
upon other countries for uranium enrichment. Shaikh Mohammed
told the Ambassador that Iran would be very close to
producing weapons after uranium enrichment and could "do
whatever it likes" at that time. He said the issue will
develop and escalate further because, in his opinion, Iran
will not back down.

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Hamas Wants to Come Calling
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6. (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that Hamas had sent messages to
the GOB that it wants to visit Bahrain. If Hamas
representatives come, the government would use the visit to
deliver its position directly to the group. The GCC had
issued a recent statement supporting Palestinian President
Abbas and calling on the Legislative Council to respect
previous agreements. Hamas officials had already visited
Qatar and now they want to call on the other GCC countries.


7. (C) The Deputy PM said that Israel and the Palestinians
were now "stuck." Neither side is trying to make progress.
Israel should do more than just make pronouncements about
what Hamas must do. Israel is killing people in the street
these days, and this serves only to further radicalize
Palestinians. During his visit to Bahrain last week,
Egyptian President Mubarak talked about developing a unified
Arab front to encourage both Hamas and Israel to take steps
in the right direction. Bahrain benefits from peace, and
pays a price when there are problems between Israelis and
Palestinians.

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Dangerous Direction in Iraq
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8. (C) Turning to Iraq, Shaikh Mohammed said events were
moving in a dangerous direction. National interests should
come first, not group interests. Democracy requires
give-and-take at each stage, and Iraqis are not showing much
interest in compromise. He stated that Jaafari speaks well
but did not accomplish much as prime minister. The Kurds
have turned against him and Pachachi is speaking out against
him. Vice President Abdul Mahdi would be a better
alternative.

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Elections, TIP, Anti-Terror Law
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9. (C) Moving to domestic affairs, Shaikh Mohammed said it
appeared that the political societies that had boycotted the
parliamentary elections in 2002 would participate in the
elections later this year. Although they complained about
the parliament, they now see that it works and plays an
important, effective role. Parliament completed a thorough
review of the budget last year, something that happens only
in Bahrain and Kuwait in the Arab world. He said that the
municipal councils are also growing into their role.


10. (C) The Ambassador told the Deputy PM that the USG was
working on the annual trafficking-in-persons report. We had
expected more action by the Bahrainis on a shelter for
distressed foreign workers and legislation criminalizing
trafficking. Shaikh Mohammed was aware of the work of the
interministerial committee on trafficking and said he would
push the committee to make progress.


11. (C) The Ambassador expressed concern that the
anti-terrorism law was still stuck at parliament. There was
a great need for a conspiracy law in Bahrain. Terrorists
need to be arrested when they are still in the planning
stages of an attack, not after they carry it out. Shaikh
Mohammed agreed and said he would share our concerns with the
Cabinet. He said that Bahrain would not wait for something
bad to happen before moving against terrorists. Bahrain
appreciates USG support and know-how in combating terrorism.

MONROE