TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE KEY TO MOVING FTA FORWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000253 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PI, EEB/TPP/BTA STATE PASS USTR FOR JBUNTIN COMMERCE FOR ITA COBERG E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017 TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD PREL MU SUBJECT: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE KEY TO MOVING FTA FORWARD Classified By: DCM Alfred Fonteneau, reasons 1.4 b and d This is an action request. Please see paragraph 6. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During a March 10 meeting with the Ambassador, Oman's Investment Promotion and Export Development Executive President identified the Omani bureaucracy's lack of requisite expertise as the primary cause for the delay in the FTA implementation process. He noted that the USG's offering of technical assistance in these outstanding areas of concern would aid government efforts in revising pertinent regulations to be FTA-complaint. Embassy welcomes technical assistance efforts and requests guidance on what could be offered. End Summary. -------------- HELP WANTED -------------- ¶2. (C) On March 10, the Ambassador discussed Oman's progress in satisfying outstanding concerns regarding the implementation of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Salem al-Ismaily, Executive President of the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development (OCIPED). Ismaily commented that the Minister remains frustrated with the slow pace of the implementation process, even after receiving a March 7 letter from DUSTR Veroneau. Ismaily reported that the Maqbool was disappointed with the letter, which the Minister felt added "even more concerns to resolve." ¶3. (C) Nevertheless, Ismaily, after reviewing USTR's comprehensive checklist, agreed that Oman had to "do its homework" to "honor the commitments under the Agreement." Ruling out internal political considerations as the cause of the sluggish pace of implementation efforts, Ismaily lamented that Oman's bureaucracy did not have the requisite expertise to get through the lengthy list of outstanding issues. To help Oman resolve these issues, he inquired about the possibility of technical assistance. "This assistance is the key," stated Ismaily. "The time is now." Ismaily proffered that by offering such technical assistance, Maqbool would re-engage on the FTA process, as he "wants to emerge as a winner in the process." -------------- BENEFITS ALREADY APPARENT -------------- ¶4. (C) Ismaily noted that Oman was already benefiting from the Agreement through the implementation of economic reforms that would assist the Sultanate in promoting itself as a good place to do business. He highlighted that, "even if Oman doesn't gain an additional dollar in bilateral trade," business investment as a result of the FTA would more than make up for it. On a recent 3 hour stopover in Mumbai, Ismaily pointed out that he and Minister Maqbool were able to "book $250 million in additional investment for the Sultanate, something that would not have occurred without the FTA." -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Embassy welcomes the prospect of additional technical assistance to help resolve outstanding concerns pertaining to intellectual property, customs issues, telecommunications, and government procurement, among others. Such assistance would significantly aid Omani government efforts in revising its regulations to be compliant with the provisions of the FTA and quicken the implementation process. -------------- ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶6. (U) Embassy requests Washington guidance on the type of technical assistance that the USG might be able to offer in the outstanding areas of concern. GRAPPO