SMALL STEP IN NATO-OMAN RELATIONSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000229 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2016 TAGS: PREL MARR XF MU SUBJECT: SMALL STEP IN NATO-OMAN RELATIONSHIP REF: 05 MUSCAT 1208 Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III. Reason: 1.4 (b, d). ¶1. (C) In a February 18 meeting, MFA Chief of International Organizations Ambassador Talib bin Miran al-Raisi shared an update on Oman-NATO relations with Pol/Econ Chief. (Note: Oman and Saudi Arabia are the only two GCC states not to have joined the NATO Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). End note.) Ambassador al-Raisi, former chief of the Royal Air Force of Oman, urged patience as Oman takes its customary conservative, cautious approach to proposals to build a relationship with NATO. Personally sympathetic to relations with NATO, Ambassador al-Raisi hailed as a major step forward MFA's recent decision to receive a large delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly, which will have meetings with the elected house of the Omani parliament, as well as with the Foreign and Defense ministries. He characterized the decision as signifying a major hurdle overcome and indication of forward momentum for NATO engagement, albeit at a careful pace. In the meantime, he said various Omani ministries are still studying what benefits ICI might bring them, and assured that Oman's ambassador in The Hague (who covers NATO) remains fully engaged. ¶2. (C) Pol/Econ Chief spoke later on February 18 with Dutch Ambassador Annalies Boogaerdt to inquire about the NATO parliamentary delegation. (Note: The Netherlands is the designated ICI partner country for Oman. End note.) She said there are as yet few details, but indicated that the parliamentary delegation will be in Oman the first week of April, headed by a German, and have about 20 members. She did not yet know if any U.S. or Dutch parliamentarians would be part of the group. She was pleased to hear of Ambassador al-Raisi's assessment, noting that she was under instruction to deliver further ICI information to him in the near future. Ambassador Boogaerdt cautioned, however, that MFA Under Secretary Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi had taken a more skeptical SIPDIS view toward relations with NATO when she met with him recently. She agreed with Pol/E Chief that Oman's intent to open an embassy in Brussels within the next two years should be of significant help. She offered to share further information on the NATO parliamentary delegation as soon as it becomes available. BALTIMORE