DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON MENA-OECD INVESTMENT

UNCLAS SANAA 000085 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINV ECON PGOV PREL YM DEMARCHE SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON MENA-OECD INVESTMENT MINISTERIAL REF: SECSTATE 233103 ¶1. On January 18, Econoffs delivered reftel demarche to Deputy Minister of Trade (MOT),Iqbal Bahadar. Bahadar said he was aware of the February 13-14 OECD ministerial meeting in Jordan, but was not yet sure if the Minister of Trade would lead Yemen's delegation. An Arab League meeting on economic policy is scheduled to take place on the same dates, explained Bahadar, and he was not sure which one the Minister would attend. Econoffs requested that MOT clarify the composition of the Yemeni delegation and provide that information to post. ¶2. The meeting came on the heels of a visit to Sanaa by Mr. Reiner Geiger, Head of the OECD MENA program, from December 26 to January 3. During his visit, Mr. Geiger met with representatives of MOT, the Ministry of Planning, and the General Investment Authority. Geiger has since been working with the ROYG to develop an investment strategy to be presented at the ministerial. Post will continue to monitor progress on the plan, and determine who has ownership of the process. The ROYG has no plans at this time to make a financial contribution to the MENA program. Krajeski