GCC SUMMIT WRAPS UP IN DOHA WITHOUT NOTABLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001133

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2017
TAGS: PREL EFIN GCC IR QA
SUBJECT: GCC SUMMIT WRAPS UP IN DOHA WITHOUT NOTABLE
ACHIEVEMENTS

REF: DOHA 1127

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael A. Ratney,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit officially
closed December 4 with a brief and low-key ceremony and with
no notable achievements. Neither the Iranian president nor
the UAE president attended the closing. (According to press
reports, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad departed Doha
the morning of December 4 and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed Al-Nahyan departed the evening of December 3.
Sheikh Khalifa and Ahmedinejad reportedly met the evening of
December 3, paving the way for discussions later that evening
between their foreign ministers on three UAE islands claimed
by Iran.)

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AHMEDINEJAD SCORES ON THE NUCLEAR ISSUE BUT LITTLE ELSE
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2. (C) Qatar's former Information Minister and Ambassador to
the UN and the United States, Hamad Al-Kuwari, told us
December 4 the big news from this GCC Summit was the timing
of the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran,
which strengthened the hand of President Ahmedinejad, in
Al-Kuwari's view, as he stood aside the GCC leaders in Doha.
Al-Kuwari, a member of the GCC consultative committee, said
the U.S. statement weakened the U.S. call for further
sanctions against Iran at a pivotal moment. According to
Al-Kuwari, GCC leaders and opinion makers noted Ahmedinejad's
purposeful omission in his speech at the GCC opening ceremony
of Iran's nuclear activities (see reftel for key elements of
his address),a subject which he nevertheless took up at his
evening press conference of December 3.


3. (U) In his press conference, Ahmedinejad reconfirmed that
the Iranian nuclear program was for peaceful purposes and
that IAEA concerns had been fully addressed. The GCC heads
of state, according to GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman bin
Hamad Al Attiyah, welcomed Iran's desire to enhance its
cooperation with the GCC. Asked about Iran's nuclear plans,
he said any nuclear activities which comply with the
guidelines of the IAEA are legal, in the eyes of the GCC.


4. (C) Despite the feeling that Ahmedinejad's stature was
enhanced at the summit, Al-Kuwari told us the GCC leaders did
not budge on the Iranians' principal desire: paving the way
for Iranian investment in the GCC states and relaxation of
travel restrictions on Iranians to GCC countries. It did not
help, noted local press commentaries, that the Iranian
President referred several times to the "Persian" Gulf in his
speech at the opening ceremony, reaffirming suspicions
leaders that Iran, and Ahmedinejad in particular, aims to
re-establish a "Greater Persia."

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QATAR'S FOREIGN MINISTER SPINS IRANIAN PARTICIPATION
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5. (C) Qatar's Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Hamad Bin
Jasim Al-Thani (HBJ),told the press December 4 that
Ahmedinejad proposed to the GOQ that he be invited to the GCC
summit. HBJ said the invitation was extended after
coordination with all GCC members. (NOTE: The press gave
prominent coverage to photographs of Saudi King Abdullah and
Ahmedinejad walking hand-in-hand, sending a message,
according to observers here, that that the Iranian leader's
participation was no surprise and was fully coordinated ahead
of time. This, and HBJ's claim to the press, contradict
Kuwaiti FM Al-Sabah's assertion to Qatar's Al-Watan newspaper
that Kuwait learned about Ahmedinejad's summit participation
only from press reports.)


6. (SBU) HBJ stressed to the press that Ahmedinejad's
proposals are positive and show good intentions. He added
that Iran is a neighboring country and the GCC is keep to
establish good relations, cooperation, and dialogue with
Iran. HBJ said that the U.S. is a strategic ally and that
all GCC countries enjoy good relations with the U.S. But
this, he added, should not prevent them from having good
relations with Iran as well. He said that Iran is a
neighbor, and having good relations with Iran enhances the
stability in a region that exports about 40 percent of world
energy needs.

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FEW TANGIBLE RESULTS
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DOHA 00001133 002 OF 002



7. (C) The one positive outcome of the summit, according to
former Qatari Justice Minister and well-connected lawyer
Najeeb Al-Nauimi, was an understanding between the GCC
leaders and Ahmedinejad that Iran would increase its efforts
on curbing the smuggling of drugs and other contraband from
Iran to GCC states. Nevertheless, stressed Al-Nauimi, there
was remarkably little progress on the issues that matter most
to the people of GCC states (see reftel). For example, there
was no movement toward the creation of a GCC common market or
passport-free travel for citizens of GCC countries to other
member states. Of particular interest to the U.S., added
Al-Nauimi, the GCC heads of state did not broach the issue of
depegging the currencies of GCC countries from the U.S.
dollar. The final communique touted the reaffirmation of the
GCC goal of a common market and common currency by 2010,
though Al-Nauimi discounted the prospect of any near-term
progress in this area.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The communique issued at the summit's close was short
on achievements, but expectations were low to begin with.
Had Ahmedinejad not participated, the story would have been
Saudi King Abdullah's decision come to Doha - a victory of
sorts for the Qatari Amir. In the event, Abdullah and the
others sat by and watched Ahmedinejad make the headlines.
The truth behind Ahmedinejad's invitation may take some time
to sort out (no doubt there is enough disingenuousness to go
around). But at the very least, it will stoke new complaints
among Qatar's GCC brothers and fresh accusations of Qatari
duplicity.


RATNEY