Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06NDJAMENA357
2006-03-07 14:03:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ndjamena
Cable title:  

AFRICAN UNION'S NEW UN AMBASSADOR

Tags:  PGOV PREL UN CD 
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VZCZCXRO0876
RR RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHPA
DE RUEHNJ #0357 0661403
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071403Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3287
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1200
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1587
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0614
UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000357 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL UN CD
SUBJECT: AFRICAN UNION'S NEW UN AMBASSADOR


UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000357

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL UN CD
SUBJECT: AFRICAN UNION'S NEW UN AMBASSADOR



1. (U) Mahamat Saleh Annadif, former Director of Cabinet for
President Idriss Deby and a former Minister of Foreign
Affairs, departs next week for New York to assume his post as
the African Union's Ambassador to the United Nations. In
recent conversations, Annadif described his responsibilities
in terms of representing the AU and coordinating African
positions in business before the Security Council. Annadif
expressed interest in meeting with USUN representatives soon
after his arrival in New York. He also hopes to visit
Washington for discussions there.


2. (U) Comment and Action Requested: Annadif had been a
good contact of Embassy N'djamena over the years. He has
served an invaluable role as the go-to person in sorting out
problems at the level of the Presidency. We expect he will
be a professional, approachable diplomat in New York. We
believe it will be well worth establishing contact with him
as he makes the rounds in New York and Washington.


3. (SBU) BIO NOTE: Annadif was born December 25, 1956, in
Arada in the desert north of Abeche in eastern Chad. He
belongs to the ethnic group denoted "Arab" in Chad, because
its native language is Arabic. He holds a master's degree in
engineering from the University of Madagascar. After the
accession of Idriss Deby to power in 1990 he became the
director of Chad's International Telecommunications Company.
He held the post of Foreign Minister from 1997-2004, an
unusually long stint for Chad. He then served one and a half
years as Deby's Chief of Staff, before being named AU
Ambassador to the United Nations. As Foreign Minister, he
broadened Chad's foreign-aid partners, establishing relations
with the Islamic Development Bank and the Gulf states. He
engineered Chad's recognition of Taiwan in 1999, which
similarly resulted in a large dose of foreign aid programmed
for road intrastructure, public water systems, large-scale
irrigated rice farms, hospitals, and teachers' salaries.
Chad's Foreign Minister (Annadif) was also cited during this
time as being on a list of 270 persons awarded lucrative oil
contracts by Iraq in the "oil for food" program.
TAMLYN