FOURTH US-ISCI ECONOMIC DIALOGUE MEETING: PRT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002836 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2017 TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD PGOV IZ SUBJECT: FOURTH US-ISCI ECONOMIC DIALOGUE MEETING: PRT PROJECTS AND FREE TRADE ZONES REF: A. A. BAGHDAD 2395 ¶B. B. BAGHDAD 1707 ¶C. C. BAGHDAD 1569 Classified By: Economic Minister Charles Ries for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The US-ISCI economic dialogue meeting on August 15 focused on discussing USG economic initiatives in southern Iraq through Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and what ISCI believes comprises a free trade zone. ISCI officials highlighted a business and investment conference for southern Iraq being held in Dubai at the end of August. The meeting's ISCI representatives consisted of Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and his advisors Dr. Fareed Yassin and Dr. Zuhair Humadi. The U.S. side included the Economic Minister, ITAO Deputy Director for Finance, the USAID Deputy Director, the Director of the Office of Provincial Affairs (OPA) and his Operations Manager, and econoff. End summary. -------------- Introductions -------------- ¶2. (C) The fourth US-ISCI economic dialogue took place on August 15 at the residence of Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi. The Vice President was a few minutes late for the start of the meeting, but subsequently chaired the remaining hour. Baghdad Mayor Saber Al-Esawi and The Economic Committee CoR member Abdul Kareem Al Nakib were slated to attend, but did not show up. EMIN Charles Ries opened the meeting by reviewing the main agenda item, describing how USG programs have been expanded in Iraq's southern provinces. -------------- PRT Programs in Southern Iraq -------------- ¶3. (C) OPA Director Ambassador Henry Clarke began his remarks by noting the variety of programs PRTs run, from last year's date palm spraying in Babil and Dhi Qhar, to irrigation canal dredging, to being involved in Basrah's "tomato tour" marketing trip to Kuwait. Amb Clarke said several PRTs have helped their provinces craft Provincial Development Strategies--Basrah, Maysan, Muthanna, Dhi Qar--which help in setting spending priorities. All potential projects are vetted by the Provincial Reconstruction and Development Committees (PRDC). Some examples of recent projects include road construction in Babil, improving electricity networks, building public health centers, and fixing the storm water drainage system in Basrah. The Vice President inquired about the size of the average project and Amb Clarke said on average each project is between $500,000 and $1 million. In each fiscal year, there is a PRT "allowance" for projects--about $10 million per province with more for Basrah and Baghdad because they have larger populations. In terms of the largest project in the province this year, it was for a hospital enhancement in Maysan that cost $8 million. ¶4. (C) The Vice President asked what the biggest obstacles were to these projects and what his office could do to help. Amb Clarke said the largest obstacle PRT officers face is not being able to meet with provincial officials due to security constraints, such as roadside bombs. Amb Clarke noted that officials in each province generally are very eager to work with the PRTs and PRTs overall are very happy with the level of cooperation. The Vice President then inquired if it is easier for PRT officials to work in the city or the countryside; to which Amb Clarke stressed PRT officials need to get project approval first in the capital and then access to where the projects will take place. There are serious access problems in Karbala, Najaf, Maysan, and Basrah. ¶5. (C) Amb Clarke announced a new $50 million program which had just been approved by the USG, the Quick Response Fund (QRF). This money will give the PRTs a small-purchase and grant-making mechanism to approve and carry out on-the-spot initiatives that are time sensitive, such as a grant just approved for a catering service for iftars during Ramadan. Amb Clarke also highlighted budget execution training PRTs have been offering at the provincial level. The Vice President responded that he holds a biweekly meeting with all the southern governors and has been pushing hard on budget execution. -------------- Dubai Trade Conference -------------- ¶6. (C) The Vice President and his advisors were eager to showcase a southern Iraq business and investment conference being held in Dubai at the end of August. Many government BAGHDAD 00002836 002 OF 002 ministers will be attending and panels will focus on how to increase investment by explaining the legal environment, business opportunities, trade incentives, and successful investments in Iraq in the past few years. The Vice President said that a lot of local Iraqi businessmen are attending and twenty of them are even funding their own travel. In order to better attract new investment, all the presentations and materials will follow one clear, uniform format. EMIN said he had heard about this upcoming conference and that it was getting some good press. -------------- Trade Issues -------------- ¶7. (C) The ISCI officials inquired about what the import restrictions were for cotton to the US. In particular, Dr. Zuhair said he personally had contacted Indian and Pakistani businessmen to explore investing in sewing factories for export to the US. EMIN explained that the quotas of the multifiber arrangement has been replaced with tariff-only barriers, but the tariff levels are significant. The Chinese now export the most textiles to the US, although there could be some niche areas such the premium type of cotton Egypt sells. The Vice President noted that there is a domestic market for cotton because Iraq still has to import it. ¶8. (C) EMIN then asked the Vice President his opinion about free trade zones (FTZ),such as the one Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih is promoting for Sulaymaniyah. The Vice President jokingly replied "they borrowed the idea from us," and then elaborated that the idea is to specify a certain land area, with something like very low rental fees, that has ready access to essential economic infrastructure--power, water, bank branches, commercial accommodations. This would be done to create the environment for investment. This way it would be easy to set up businesses, such as a cement or aluminum factory. The Vice President was not clear, however, on whether equipment imports or product exports should get preferential tax breaks. ¶10. (C) Treasury Attach Ged Smith asked whether these FTZs would be linked up with Iraq-based Industrial Zones (IBIZ), like the one around the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). Dr. Fareed replied there would be problems linking up the BIAP IBIZ with FTZs because the airport is under the authority of the Transportation Ministry and FTZs are under another ministry. One way to expand future Iraqi FTZs, however, could be to piggyback onto existing regional FTZs, like Jordan has. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) Begin Comment: This fourth dialogue continued to be a platform to exchange views and vet ideas on key issues. It was clear the ISCI has not given deep thought yet to the technical and legal issues of the proposed FTZs in Iraq. The August 12 assassination of the ISCI Qadisiya provincial governor provided a somber backdrop for this meeting. End Comment. CROCKER