CITES REMAINS PENDING BEFORE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000341

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, OES/ENV
STATE PASS USTR FOR JBUNTIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2017
TAGS: SENV ETRD PREL MU
SUBJECT: CITES REMAINS PENDING BEFORE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

REF: A. MUSCAT 260

B. MUSCAT 247

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo, reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) On April 2, the Ambassador raised the issue of Oman's
accession to the Convention on the International Trade of
Endangered Species (CITES) with Humud al-Busaidi, Secretary
General for the Council of Ministers. Busaidi stated that
the Council had a considerable backlog of pending legislation
to work through, and noted that cabinet ministers had not
assembled for two months prior to meeting on March 27 on
account of the Sultan's "Meet the People" tour. (Note:
Several ministers normally accompany the Sultan on his
extended visits within Oman as part of his annual tour to
gauge citizen concerns. End note.) While Busaidi was unable
to provide a date or agenda for the Council's next meeting,
he volunteered that UN conventions are routinely and quickly
approved by the Council once on the agenda. The Ambassador
urged the Council to take up the CITES legislation as soon as
possible.


2. (C) Comment: The EMBASSY remains optimistic that CITES
accession is on track. In a recent conversation with the
Ambassador, Dr. Salem al-Ismaily, Executive President for the
Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development,
stated that the Sultan had reiterated to his cabinet that
passage of necessary regulations to implement the U.S.-Oman
Free Trade Agreement remained a top priority. We expect that
CITES accession, while not explicitly part of the FTA, will
move expeditiously as part of that directive. End comment.
GRAPPO