ANBARI, GOI LEADERS GATHER FOR ECONOMIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003024 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2017 TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN PGOV PREL IZ SUBJECT: ANBARI, GOI LEADERS GATHER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNANCE FORUM IN RAMADI REF: A. BAGHDAD 2552 ¶B. BAGHDAD 2494 Classified By: Economic Minister Charles Ries for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (U) This is a joint PRT Anbar/Embassy ECON reporting cable. SUMMARY: ¶2. (C) Over 200 Anbari notables attended the Anbar Forum II on September 6, a gathering that showed a new face to Iraqi governance -- that of National and Provincial officials cooperating in a public and transparent manner to address the needs of their people in a province boasting a significantly improved security situation. The Forum's venue at the newly renovated Provincial Council Chambers in Ramadi's Government Center highlighted the return of the functions of provincial government to the provincial capital following the Provincial Council's return to Ramadi this year after a one-year temporary exile in Baghdad due to insurgent threats. ¶3. (C) Significant Iraqi and international media covered the event. Vice Presidents Tariq Hashimi (Tawafuq/IIP) and Adel Abdul Mehdi (UIA/SCIRI) and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Barhem Saleh (PUK) represented the GOI at the Anbar Forum II, one of the largest gatherings of Anbari notables with central government figures since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Ambassador Crocker, Senators Joseph Biden and Blanche Lincoln, EMIN, DCG of MNF-I LTG Rollo, LTG Odierno of MNC-I, and MNF-W's MG Gaskin and BGEN Allen, and PRT Anbar staff also attended. The Anbari attendance was particularly noteworthy. Most members of the Provincial Council, the mayors of several Anbari cities including Ramadi, Habbiniya, and Fallujah, as well as tribal sheiks from across the province, including Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha of the anti-insurgent tribal coalition SAI, traveled to Ramadi for the forum. The forum culminated in the DPM's announcement of a series of GOI commitments to Anbar, most notably a $70 million plus-up in the province's 2007 capital investment budget, a first tranche of $50 million for war damage compensation, and 6,000 additional civil servants for the provincial and ministry office in the province. Also announced were enhancements to hospital facilities, a free trade zone, and a micro-credit loan financing program. The event was very nearly scuttled by internal political wrangling that pitted a very displeased PM Nouri al-Maliki (UIA/DAWA) against Tawafuq politicians loyal to Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi. END SUMMARY. ANBARIS INVITE GOI TO DELIVER TO THE PROVINCE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Anbar Governor Ma'amoun Samir Rasheed invited Prime Minister Maliki, Deputy Prime Minister Salih, and a full complement of Ministers to Ramadi for a day of events showcasing central and provincial government cooperation as a follow-up to the 90-minute Anbar Forum I held in Baghdad (June 20, 2007 -- ref b). The event took place in a provincial capital with a vastly improved security environment characterized by successes of U.S. and Iraqi efforts to bring stability to what was once considered the most dangerous province in Iraq. ¶5. (C) Planning for the forum began on July 29. MNF-W, PRT Anbar, MNF-I Strategic Effects - ECON, and Embassy ECON worked closely with Governor Ma'amoun, Provincial Council Chairman Abdulsalam Abdullah, DPM Salih, and their staffs to define a full package of Anbari initiatives that could be delivered by the GoI. The Anbar Forum is thus distinguished from other recent GoI / Provincial "workshops," such as July's forum with Diyala provincial officials in Baghdad. Instead of engaging in a wide-ranging gripe session, followed by GoI promises to do more, provincial officials and DPM staff set out a list of proposals for funding, and then the DPM pursued the financing commitments before arriving in Ramadi. THE DELIVERABLES -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The DPM, with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation projected on the Provincial Council Chamber's wall, announced the following initiatives: -- Ministry of Finance authorization of an additional $70m in Rapid Reconstruction funds. -- Ministry of Finance authorization of $50 million for FY '07 in compensation to families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed during war. BAGHDAD 00003024 002 OF 003 -- Ministries of Interior and Finance authorization to increase the number of Anbar civil servant positions by 6,000 at all levels and across all offices in the province due to significant improvement in security, and in recognition of the importance of sustaining it. (Included in Salih's slide presentation was also authorization to provide salaries and benefits for an increase in police officers from 11,000 -- the number the GoI says is sufficient for the population to be policed -- to 21,000, the number already in uniform, but not receiving regular paychecks. Anbari officials with strong support from MNF-W had pushed for an additional 6,000 - 9,000 officers, to "legitimize" the officers already providing security in many areas, but the DPM was unable to obtain this.) -- Ministry of Housing and Construction commitment to move forward quickly with tenders for a Japanese Government-funded UNDP project to rehabilitate a major Ramadi hospital at cost of $18m. Specialized health units within Anbar will coordinate with the Japanese on design and launch of the project within the month. -- Ministry of Oil commitment to restart operations at the Haditha oil refinery, and to begin transporting 10K bbl/d of crude oil by truck to meet current production capacity. -- Ministry of Electricity agreement to jumpstart the stalled installation and operation of ten new power generators at Tahadi near Haditha, including commencement of the civil works required to install the generators. -- Ministry of Housing and Construction commitment to repair the highways from Baghdad through Ramadi to the Jordanian border at Traibeel, and northwest to the Syrian border at Husaybah / Al Qa'im. -- Ministry of Industry and Minerals commitment to finish the last elements needed to restart the Ramadi ceramic floor and wall tile factory, and to conduct needed electrical and technical enhancements at an Anbar phosphate factory to increase production levels to the factory's maximum capacity of 1 million tons per year from its current output of 25 percent of capacity. -- Ministries of Interior and Labor launching of a $30m micro-credit fund; Anbar staff from the Rasheed and Rafidain Banks and Anbari NGOs received training on administering the loan program on September 3 in Baghdad. -- Ministry of Finance commitment to the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Al Qa'im, previously established in 2001. DPM staff with colleagues from the Ministries of Finance, Industry, and Planning reported they began discussions in late August with Jordanian counterparts on the possibility of building a border trade complex at Traibeel. -- National Investment Commission commitment to work with the Anbar Provincial Council to establish a Provincial Investment Commission. ANBARIS REACT TO GOI COMMITMENTS -------------- ¶7. (C) Governor Ma'amoun Sami Rasheed opened the event, which was one of the largest gatherings of Anbari leaders with GOI officials since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, in the Anbar Provincial Council's (PC) newly renovated meeting space in the Government Center in downtown Ramadi. (The Anbar PC held its first meeting in its renovated space in late July, having returned to its regular meeting schedule in the province in April after fleeing to Baghdad a year earlier due to insurgent threats.) Several PC members expressed pride that the event was taking place at Government Center in Ramadi. "A year ago this could not have happened in Ramadi, but the security in Ramadi is good now so we can have these meetings here in Anbar," PC member Ashour Saleh said, referring to significantly improved security in the provincial capital over the last year. ¶8. (C) "This was a strong event with a lot of progress for Anbar, and now we have to work with the Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President Hashimi to make sure the programs are delivered to the province," Provincial Council Chairman Mohammed Abdulsalam said. Abdulsalam added that if economic progress results from Anbar's improved security, "any support that is still there for the insurgents will be gone." Members of the provincial council, the mayors of several Anbari cities including Ramadi, Habbiniya, and Fallujah, as well as tribal sheiks from across the province attended the event. "This was the largest gathering of our province's BAGHDAD 00003024 003 OF 003 leaders with the central government leaders that we have seen, and it is good for Anbar and good to have it in Ramadi," PC member Mohammed Zeki said. ¶9. (C) Several young Iraqi Police officers standing guard outside Government Center stated that the Anbari people would take notice of the Anbar Forum II. "We heard today that Barhem Saleh is here and the vice presidents. This will be in the news all over the world. Before no one came to Anbar. Now they are coming here and focusing on Anbar," one police officer stated. "Do you think Anbar's economy will improve?" another asked. "We need to give the people more. Iraq has everything. It is very rich. The people should have better lives," he concluded. THE FORUM THAT ALMOST WASN'T -------------- ¶10. (C) Neither the participation of key ministers nor the financing assurances from responsible ministries were certain right up to the eleventh hour before the Forum. Obtaining the financing for most of the proposals required a full cabinet decision, and support of the PM. As time ran out in the planning process, a cabinet meeting was finally scheduled for September 4. On September 3, during President Bush's trip to the province, Governor Ma'amoun gave PM Maliki a public dressing down for his unresponsiveness to areas with majority Sunni populations. The cabinet meeting for the next day was summarily cancelled, and rescheduled for the morning of the forum, with the PM requiring 100 percent attendance of ministers. Ambassador Crocker and EMIN engaged with GoI officials up to and including PM Maliki throughout the day September 5, urging them to take necessary decisions so that the Anbar event could take place. At 10:30 PM Embassy Officers received word that the DPM and a select number of ministers or deputies would be allowed to attend, and that the DPM had written financing assurances for the additional $70 million in Rapid Reconstruction Funds, and the $50 million for housing compensation. THE WAY FORWARD -------------- ¶11. (C) DPM Salih has agreed to establish a GoI team with members from USM-I and MNF-I to manage, direct and execute progress on the agreed upon deliverables. We will continue to monitor and report out on progress going forward. BUTENIS