LIBYAN DEMARCHE ON CHINA SUMMIT WITH AFRICAN NATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000645 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/MAG, AF E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2016 TAGS: ECIN ETRD PREL AU KECF LY SUBJECT: LIBYAN DEMARCHE ON CHINA SUMMIT WITH AFRICAN NATIONS REF: a) TRIPOLI 84, b) TRIPOLI 568 CLASSIFIED BY: Ethan Goldrich, CDA, Embassy Tripoli, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Ibrahim Dridi, Director of the Americas Office at the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (MFA equivalent) requested a meeting on November 7 to convey a demarche regarding Libyan views on the China Summit with African nations. "I was instructed to raise our concern over China," said Dridi. Reiterating points made by Secretary for African Affairs Ali Treki reported reftel (b),Dridi said that Libya believed it was inappropriate for a single country, even one as large as China, to hold a summit with all African countries. As a reflection of the Libyan view, the GPCFLIC decided to send the relatively low-level Secretary for Asian Affairs, rather than considering participation by Qadhafi or the General Secretary of the GPCFLIC (Foreign Minister equivalent),AbdulRahman Shalgam. ¶2. (C) Dridi explained that Libya suspected China of ulterior motives in its economic assistance programs to African countries, saying, "Chinese hegemony over the continent may be behind all of the financial offers." He asked Charge for our views on the Chinese Summit. Dridi also said, "Libya wants to coordinate on Africa policy and asks what joint projects you suggest for development cooperation." He asked that we convey the message quietly since Libya didn't want its fears to be reported openly. ¶3. (C) Charge detailed for Dridi our continuing demarches on the need for international peacekeeping troops in Darfur and on facilitating international assistance. We also reminded Dridi that we had offered to set up a bilateral meeting between a senior U.S. trade representative and a Libyan official on the margins of a planned AU trade meeting (cancelled due to a schedule conflict with the Beijing event). Charge also noted the value of dialogue between the U.S. and Libya on African issues and our understanding that Libya was interested in a visit by Special Sudan Representative Andrew Natsios to Tripoli. Charge and Dridi recapped many of the points raised during Assistant Secretary Frazer's visit (reftel a). Dridi said that Libya was ready to receive Natsios or Assistant Secretary Frazer to discuss Africa policy at any time. ¶4. (U) We subsequently provided Dridi with public statements about Undersecretary Burn's recent travel to China, as well as Assistant Secretary Frazer's public remarks on African cooperation and background material on the AGOA program. ¶5. (C) Comment. Libyan interlocutors have continually pushed back on our demarches asking for their help convincing the Sudanese to allow international peacekeepers in the Darfur region, claiming that any outside influence would only act as a catalyst for terrorist activity in the region. Libya's stance is that Africa should take care of its own, with of course, Libya in a primary leadership role. Qadhafi promotes himself as the "Father" of the African Union, and sees the continent as his backyard. Now he must add China to the UN and the historical colonizers of Africa as potential rivals and interlopers. (Interestingly, the British Embassy here was not called in for demarche we received.) We find it fascinating that the Libyans have identified a fear of Chinese hegemony as a potential source of common interest with us. Inviting Secretary of African Affairs Ali Treki for consultations in Washington with Assistant Secretary Frazer and/or including Tripoli in future travel by Ambassador Natsios' might present an opportunity to exchange views on Libyan concerns over Chinese influence, and more importantly to press for a more helpful Libyan stance on Sudan.. End Comment. GOLDRICH