MFA UPDATE ON DELAYED NEC CONTAINERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000134 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT OBO - GENERAL WILLIAMS FROM CHARGE POWERS DEPT ALSO FOR AF/EX, AF/SPG, AND AF/RSA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2017 TAGS: PREL OFDP ABLD AMGT ASEC US SU SUBJECT: MFA UPDATE ON DELAYED NEC CONTAINERS REF: A. STATE 08210 ¶B. KHARTOUM 00072 ¶C. 06 KHARTOUM 02924 ¶D. 06 KHARTOUM 02794 Classified By: P/E Chief E. Whitaker, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) During a January 29 meeting with MFA Director of Americas Badawi al-Sanosi and Deputy Director Abdel Rahman Sharfi, Charge Powers again raised the issue of the Embassy's detained containers at the Port of Sudan (Refs B, C, and D). Noting that next week would represent a delay in their clearance by four months, Charge Powers pointed out that Washington had recently sent post formal notification that a limited period of time remained before Washington would be forced to terminate the project if shipments of building materials could not proceed. He also reminded al-Sanosi and Sharfi that the detainment involved non-compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and went against the Ministry's previously expressed support for the project, which was seen by both parties as a commitment to a long-term bilateral partnership. ¶2. (C) Al-Sanosi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not given up on the project, despite a "negative reply" received from the Ministry of Finance. He added that both MFA State Ministers Ali Karti and Al-Wasila al-Samani had also attempted to resolve the situation. ¶3. (C) Al-Sanosi noted that the "political context" of the U.S.-Sudan relationship did not help the situation, and that "complications in relations" constrained the MFA's ability to resolve the matter in coordinating with others in the government. He also mentioned the recent opening of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) liaison office in Washington as an irritant, despite our previous clarification (Ref B) that the USG did not regard it as a diplomatic mission and that no privileges or immunities were accorded to the staff of the office. POWERS