SYRIA'S WTO DREAMS CONTINUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000542 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017 TAGS: ECON EFTA ETRD PREL SY SUBJECT: SYRIA'S WTO DREAMS CONTINUE REF: A. DAMASCUS 0017 ¶B. DAMASCUS 0194 Classified By: CDA Michael Corbin, for reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) Summary: In the last several months, Syria has taken several public steps in an expressed desire to advance its WTO bid, including the formation of new committees on WTO accession planning, and the holding of several workshops and conferences designed to highlight their ongoing efforts to both domestic and international audiences. SARG officials continue to tout their progress on necessary economic reforms to qualify for accession, though outside observers are unanimous that their claims are highly inflated. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The last several months have witnessed ongoing SARG efforts to be seen advancing its WTO bid. In March 2007, the SARG created four committees to prepare for negotiations. These new teams will cover the areas of: trade in goods; trade in services; intellectual property; and overall negotiation strategy. This last team is headed directly by Minister for Economy and Trade Amir Hosni Lutfi, while his deputies lead the others. Deputy Minister for Economy and Trade Ghassan al Eid told local media in early May that these committees have nearly completed the required filings for formal WTO accession negotiations. This echoes a remark made by Syrian Office for the Boycott of Israel Director Muhammad al-Ajami, who told EconOff on April 30 that Syria's WTO accession package was "nearly complete", adding that he believes the final version will have a "no-Israel" clause. ¶3. (U) On the heels of the formation of the new committees, the Islamic Bank for Development and the Syrian Ministry of Finance co-sponsored a symposium in Damascus April 1-4 on joining the WTO. Thirty-five participants from seven Arab countries attended the sessions. SARG Minister of Finance Muhammad al-Husayn addressed the group and highlighted Syria's ongoing economic reform and modernization program, according to press reports. The symposium was designed to raise awareness on issues related to WTO accession, and the final component was a "virtual negotiation round", during which a mock-WTO committee posed questions to the applying nation's negotiating team. Lutfi highlighted Syria's economic reforms, commenting publicly that Syria's application - filed in 2001 - languishes due to opposition and interference by the U.S. and Israel. In early May, the Ministry of Economy and Trade and a German group held a four-day workshop in Damascus titled, "Organizing Trade Policy Within the Framework of Economic Reform in Syria." ¶4. (C) The SARG has made efforts to show progress on items related to qualifying for WTO accession as well. Lutfi met May 15 with Director of the Arab Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Nahla Haider to discuss cooperation between the SARG and WIPO on protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). After the meeting, Haider told local media that efforts exerted thus far by the SARG to protect IPR reflected positively on economic development in Syria. ¶5. (C) Comment: Syria's ongoing efforts to push their WTO application along seem more politically than economically motivated. Despite the lack of an economic plan to give meaning and direction to the SARG's WTO accession application, the regime still seems to be calculating that the political and public relations advantages of being seen attempting the accession process may help erode its international isolation. These efforts also appear more rhetorical than substantive. The four new committees, for example, exist more in name than reality, as they consist of between one and four members, all of whom have other duties and only meet by exception. CORBIN