RWANDA: AFRICA COMMAND, UNSC RESOLUTION 1737 ON

UNCLAS KIGALI 000138 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KNNP RW SUBJECT: RWANDA: AFRICA COMMAND, UNSC RESOLUTION 1737 ON IRAN REF: A. STATE 14457 ¶B. STATE 14071 ¶1. (SBU) On February 8, Mission presented talking points on the new Africa Command, and on UN Security Council Resolution 1737, to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for IO and the Americas Ben Rutsinga. Rutsinga welcomed the announcement of the Africa Command. He commented that, given Rwanda's ongoing ACOTA training program and other mil-mil support, the prospect of a command focused exclusively on Africa would likely mean even greater cooperation and interaction with American military personnel. With counter-terrorism a concern in east Africa, he assumed that the new Africa command would offer useful support for concerned governments. ¶2. (SBU) On UNSC Resolution 1737 concerning Iran's nuclear program, he noted that Rwanda had no real ties with Iran. No Iranian ambassador had been accredited to Kigali (including the Iranian ambassador in Kampala),and there were no real economic or cultural links. "An odd student or two may have studied in Iran's islamic universities," he said, but no more. Iran lobbied Rwanda at the UN, he said, "and that is the extent of their influence." On that basis, there was little for Rwanda to keep an eye on, he said, regarding commercial ties and requests for credit. They simply didn't exist. Rutsinga endorsed the concept of an international community working together to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and he said that any irresponsible government seeking such weapons "should be stopped." ARIETTI