CWC - UAE/U.S. HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT - NOT YET

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000606 SIPDIS SIPDIS NOFORN STATE FOR NEA/ARP, ISN/CB THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2017 TAGS: KTIA PARM PREL CWC AE SUBJECT: CWC - UAE/U.S. HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT - NOT YET READY TO SIGN REF: A. SECSTATE 46124 ¶B. 06 ABU DHABI 1928 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b & d). ¶1. (C/NF) On April 10, Econchief met with MFA Director of International Organizations (and MFA representative the UAE's Non-Proliferation committee) Yacoub Al-Hosani to ask about the status of the host country agreement on the conduct of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Inspections. Al-Hosani was the UAEG official who had met with Dr. David Cooper, Director for Non Proliferation Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to discuss the agreement in April 2006. Al-Hosani said that the agreement is still under study by the UAE and that there is "no consensus yet" on approval. ¶2. (C/NF) "Speaking informally," Al-Hosani said that the main concern about the agreement -- by other members of the committee -- was whether the UAE could meet both the requirements of the CWC and the host country agreement, especially given the short period of time required to respond to challenge inspections. He added that "some members" of the committee questioned the need for the agreement. The UAEG can inform the USG informally if it hears of any inspections that might affect U.S. assets, he noted. He added that, as the U.S. was a member of the CWC committee, he doubted that any inspection would take it by surprise. ¶3. (C/NF) In response to Econchief's question about whether there would be any additional information that the U.S. could provide to help convince the UAEG to conclude the agreement, Al-Hosani asked whether other regional actors had signed the agreement. He noted that the UAE had informally pulsed some of its neighbors (Saudi Arabia and Qatar) and that neither had signed such an agreement. ¶4. (C/NF) Comment: Although Al-Hosani stressed the technical nature of the agreement and referred to his "conversations" with other committee members, he was clearly aware of the issue. It was also clear that the UAE harbors serious reservations about this agreement. UAE officials are more likely to continue to "study" the agreement rather than come back with a clear answer, especially if that answer is negative. Providing the UAE with information on other countries that have concluded the agreement, or further information on how the UAE could fulfill the terms of both agreements, might move the UAE forward. We do not, however, expect a favorable resolution quickly. End Comment. SISON