POTENTIAL POLICY PLANNING INITIATIVE WITH IRAQI MFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001043

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR S/P KRASNER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2017
TAGS: PREL IZ
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL POLICY PLANNING INITIATIVE WITH IRAQI MFA


Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has
expressed an interest in establishing ties to the
Department's Policy Planning staff and receiving training on
strategic planning and dealing with longer term issues.
Labid Abawi heads the MFA's policy planning staff and has
reached out to the EMBASSY in an effort to provide his people
the tools they need to work more effectively. Mr. Abawi said
his first priority is obtaining training on how to formulate
policy and on future planning. He has also requested help
defining what the policy planning staff's role should be
within the MFA and in conjunction with other Iraqi
ministries. Mission welcomes the opportunity to both develop
the MFA's policy planning capability and engage the GOI in
policy planning talks on over-the-horizon issues which are
often shunted aside in the press of business in Baghdad. The
visit to Washington should include a substantive dialogue as
well as training sessions for the MFA policy planners.

--------------
MFA Policy Planning Division
--------------


2. (U) The MFA policy planning staff is comprised of 14
members, divided into sections covering specific countries,
economics, and hot button issues. They prepare reports which
are cleared through Mr. Abawi and then forwarded to the
Foreign Minister.

--------------
Recommendations
--------------


3. (U) Post recommends the Department's Policy Planning
staff send the MFA a note supportive of their interest in
establishing links between policy planning offices, and Post
further recommends that the Department invite the director
and a few staff of the MFA Policy Planning division to
Washington for an introductory meeting with their
counterparts at the Department, followed by a reciprocal
visit to Baghdad.


4. (C) Post views this as an opportunity to begin
discussions on one or two functional or regional strategic
issues, such as future MFA policy toward Iran and the Iranian
presence In Iraq, as well as how the MFA can define its role
in regional affairs.


5. (C) Providing training and liaison services in this area
will encourage the kind of strategic planning and
professional tradecraft that the MFA needs to be doing to
mature as a ministry.

--------------
Follow-up
--------------


6. (U) Mr. Labid expressed interest in a follow-up meeting
to discuss these issues in more detail when he returns from
Saudi Arabia at the end of March.
SPECKHARD