DAS GRAY MEETS SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ARAB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 001284 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG, AF/SPG E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER PBTS PGOV MO SUBJECT: DAS GRAY MEETS SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ARAB MAGHREB UNION Classified By: AMBASSADOR THOMAS R. RILEY FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. On June 29, DAS Gordon Gray and Ambassador Riley discussed the revitalization of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) with the organization's Secretary General Al Habib bin Yahia. Bin Yahia shared a number of ways he is trying to reinvigorate the AMU after many years of lackluster results. Adopting a bottom up approach, the Secretary General hopes to increase personal contacts between representatives of the AMU's five member states on regional issues, such as desertification and terrorism, that they are more likely to agree on. Once confidence building measures have been established and the benefits of cooperation have been demonstrated, bin Yahia hopes this will contribute to a suitable atmosphere for member states to be able to address the larger issue of the Western Sahara. DAS Gray and Ambassador Riley expressed appreciation for the strategy and offered USG assistance in working with AMU members to promote regional integration and cooperation. End summary. ¶2. (C) Bin Yahia said that Tunisian President Ben Ali had instructed him to revitalize the AMU after the organization had achieved mediocre results since its inception in 1989. The Secretary General noted a study by the World Bank and IMF that said the economic integration of the Maghreb could increase economic growth by 2-3 percent for each country. He shared the report with each of the AMU states to encourage their support. He also added the importance of Maghreb socio-economic success to the European Union (EU) as the region's neighbor and economic partner. Bin Yahia added that although the AMU has not been involved in resolving the bilateral issue of the Western Sahara, the issue has derailed the AMU's ability to successfully address numerous other regional issues. Historically, Morocco and Algeria have sought to defer other AMU issues until after the Western Sahara had been resolved. At the Barcelona Process meeting in 1995, the AMU set goals of increasing vertical integration with the EU and sub-regional horizontal integration. Thus far, bin Yahia opined, the sub-regional integration was lagging behind that with the EU. He added "after 40 years of independence, it is time to start working together." ¶3. (C) Recently, the Secretary General has adopted a number of confidence building measures by promoting regional contacts at the ministerial and sub-ministerial level. The AMU's Foreign Ministers Council has four committees covering the issues of infrastructure, agriculture, human resources and economics. Each committee has several sub-committees and this resulted in a total of 115 meetings during 2005. While bin Yahia said this was too much, it had successfully created a network of contacts. He said representatives from each of the five member states must be present in order to hold a meeting and the Moroccans and Algerians regularly work together without problems. Bin Yahia explained that these meetings help promote the confidence building process and show the potential benefits of shared prosperity and economic growth. The AMU has recently established a business committee comprised of members of the private sector (previously uninvolved in the integration process) and a Maghreb Union NGO. It also recently hosted a ministerial level meeting to discuss avian flu and is working to revive its security committee, comprised of Ministers of Interior, and its agriculture committee. Gray agreed this was a good start for future Maghreb integration and added that problems such as illegal migration, desertification and terrorism do not follow national boundaries. He added that the USG shares many of the same goals and offered USG assistance in encouraging AMU members to participate in AMU activities. ¶4. (C) Gray asked bin Yahia's opinion of the situation in the Western Sahara and he replied that the GOM's preparation of an autonomy plan was a good start. He appreciated that the GOM had offered to meet with all parties, including the Polisario. He emphasized that the relationship between Morocco and Algeria was the real problem but that the situation between Morocco and the Polisario would be "easy to fix." By successfully addressing the numerous smaller problems, bin Yahia said, the other problems would take care of themselves. However, time is of the essence, he said, especially on the issue of terrorism. ¶5. (C) Comment. Bin Yahia's method of revitalizing the AMU RABAT 00001284 002 OF 002 through confidence building measures on smaller issues appears to be paying dividends. Recently established and resurrected committees may help to sustain cooperation among member countries. ¶6. (U) Gray cleared this cable. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** RILEY