TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER ZARIPOV'S BILATERAL WISH LIST FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000171

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KPAO TI
SUBJECT: TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER ZARIPOV'S BILATERAL WISH LIST FOR
2007

REF: (A) DUSHANBE 44, (B) DUSHANBE 34

DUSHANBE 00000171 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Foreign Minister Zaripov invited Ambassador
February 1 to meet newly-appointed Ambassador to the United
States Abdujabbor Shirinov, and to discuss his ideas for
additional cooperation in 2007, including the opening of the
U.S.-funded bridge at Nizhnii Pyanzh and the Millennium
Challenge Corporation. Ambassador raised the upcoming
International Visitors program for senior bankers and expressed
hope for positive results from a related meeting between Gerald
Metals, Orienbank owner and "First Brother-in-Law" Sadulloyev,
and the Deputy Director of the TadAZ aluminum smelter in
February in Washington. She also asked for the Minister's help
in registering the National Democratic Institute and Freedom
House, both of which would contribute to Tajikistan's Millennium
Challenge aspirations. Zaripov provided some information on
President Rahmonov's international travels, and asked for U.S.
assistance in closing down a U.S. based website he claimed was
run as an "active measure" by Russian security services aimed at
disrupting U.S. relations with the countries of Central Asia.
End Summary.

New Ambassador

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2. (SBU) "Increase U.S. investment in Tajikistan and
opportunities for Tajik students to study in the United States."
Shirinov plans to arrive in Washington mid-February and hopes
to participate in the White House credentials ceremony February

27. (Note: We conveyed to the Ministry today that Shirinov
needs to be in Washington no later than February 13 to be
included in the ceremony.)

Zaripov's Wish List

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3. (SBU) Zaripov again raised Tajikistan's interest in making
the list of Millennium Challenge countries, and said this would
be a top priority for Shirinov. Ambassador said success was not
an issue of lobbying, but rather taking concrete steps to
improve Tajikistan's indicators. Registration of the National
Democratic Institute and Freedom House would be positive
developments in the "governing justly" section of the
indicators, especially as Freedom House has some responsibility
for the rankings. Zaripov said he was working with both the
Ministry of Justice and State Committee on Security to move
forward on the National Democratic Institute, but asked
Ambassador to raise the issue at her meetings with the Minister
of Justice and Director of Security. Ambassador noted that the
new Minister of Justice had thus far declined to meet. (Note:
This is as clear a statement as we have heard that the State
Committee on National Security, long thought to be the main
obstacle to the National Democratic Institute's work, is in fact
the real problem).


4. (SBU) Zaripov again raised his interest in a splashy
ceremony for the bridge opening in August, including senior U.S.
representation. He is also hoping to generate increased U.S.
investment, noting the recent visit to Tajikistan of U.S.-listed
energy company Canargo, which has received a concession to
explore the possibility of extracting natural gas in
Kurgan-Tube, and to generate more educational exchanges. "Maybe
in the future, we will have budgetary funds to send more
students to the United States, as they do in Kazakhstan. But
for now we still need your help."

Travelling Man

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5. (SBU) Zaripov characterized Rahmonov's recent trip to
China as extremely positive, not only for the various commercial
and educational agreements signed, but for the overall
"umbrella" agreement on friendship and cooperation that will
stimulate rapid development in the relationship. (Note:
Zaripov didn't share any figures on the new concessional loan
agreements reached with China, but International Monetary Fund
representatives told us this week that they are on the order of
hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, potentially raising
Tajikistan's Debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio to as high as
60 percent. End Note.) Rahmonov will travel to Egypt February
4 and Syria three days later for meetings with his counterparts.
According to Zaripov, Rahmonov wants not only to build
bilateral relations with countries in the Arab world, but also
to share his experience in "peacefully resolving civil conflicts
and working cooperatively with difficult neighbors."

DUSHANBE 00000171 002.2 OF 002



Shut Down that Pesky Website

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6. (SBU) Zaripov raised the Arianastorm.com website, which he
claims is based in Newcastle, Delaware. According to Zaripov,
Ibrahim Ismoyilov, who was the deputy state security committee
chief for Tajikistan during Soviet times, runs the site with
four students he had recruited from Isfara, "a hotbed of Islamic
extremists." Ismoyilov receives his instructions from
opposition journalist Atabuloyev in Moscow, a known Russian
Federal Security Service agent of influence, whom Moscow uses to
destabilize relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and
also to curb the growth of U.S. influence in Central Asia in
general. Zaripov was particularly incensed about stories that
he personally is an "agent of the Central Intelligence Agency."
Ambassador noted that the U.S. government does not control
information published on the internet, to which Zaripov
responded that "the U.S. Justice Department has the right to
close down any website under the Patriot Act." Ambassador said
this is only true for websites promoting violence and terrorism.
(Note: We feel Zaripov's pain; our embassy has also been the
subject of some nasty attacks from this website.)


7. (SBU) Comment: We appreciate Department's assistance in
getting Shirinov included in the upcoming White House
credentials ceremony. We expect that Zaripov will still play
the lead role for the Tajik side in driving the bilateral
relationship. Our challenge is to turn his enthusiasm and ideas
into concrete steps forward. End Comment.
JACOBSON