Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07RABAT1556
2007-10-01 16:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rabat
Cable title:
AMU PROPOSAL TO "INSTITUTIONALIZE" U.S. - MAGHREB
how-toVZCZCXRO3506 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHRB #1556 2741642 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 011642Z OCT 07 FM AMEMBASSY RABAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7520 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001556
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR P AND NEA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL XF
SUBJECT: AMU PROPOSAL TO "INSTITUTIONALIZE" U.S. - MAGHREB
CONTACTS
Classified by DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001556
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR P AND NEA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL XF
SUBJECT: AMU PROPOSAL TO "INSTITUTIONALIZE" U.S. - MAGHREB
CONTACTS
Classified by DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
1. (C) In an October 1 meeting, Zoheir Merchaoui, Arab
Maghreb Union (AMU) Minister-Plenipotentiary and Counselor
for Political Affairs and Information, told A/Polcouns that
AMU Secretary-General Habib Ben Yahya returned from New York
encouraged by the September 27 meeting of AMU Foreign
Ministers hosted by U/S Burns. Noting that the U.S. and the
states of North Africa had a common interest in promoting
regional cooperation and integration and mitigating disputes
that have hampered progress to date, Merchaoui passed on Ben
Yahya's sincere appreciation for the U.S. initiative in
organizing the meeting.
2. (C) Merchaoui said that Ben Yahya believed that it was
time to consider institutionalizing Ministerial-level
contacts between the USG and the Arab Maghreb Union States.
Merchaoui said that the AMU Foreign Ministers will hold an
extraordinary meeting in Tripoli in early December and
predicted that the gathering would produce a formal proposal
for biannual U.S.-AMU Ministerial-level consultations, once
annually on the margins of UNGA and once annually in one of
the AMU capitals.
3. (C) Merchaoui passed on Ben Yahya's thanks for receiving
"courtesies of the port" on arrival September 26, but also
claimed that Ben Yahya had received no such courtesies upon
departure from JFK airport on September 29. Instead, he
reported, Ben Yahya was "singled out" by TSA personnel for a
"humiliating" search and intensive questioning before being
cleared to board his Royal Air Maroc flight for Casablanca.
Merchaoui asked that we convey to Washington Ben Yahya's
disappointment over the incident.
4. (C) Comment: Ben Yahya, a former Tunisian Foreign
Minister (and former Defense Minister) and previously
Tunisian Ambassador to Washington, is a practical diplomat
comfortable dealing with the USG, but he is nonetheless
sensitive to protocol issues. While A/Polcouns passed on his
informal regrets for any discomfort he experienced, we sense
that Ben Yahya is looking for a formal apology from the USG.
End comment.
*****************************************
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat
*****************************************
Riley
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR P AND NEA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL XF
SUBJECT: AMU PROPOSAL TO "INSTITUTIONALIZE" U.S. - MAGHREB
CONTACTS
Classified by DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).
1. (C) In an October 1 meeting, Zoheir Merchaoui, Arab
Maghreb Union (AMU) Minister-Plenipotentiary and Counselor
for Political Affairs and Information, told A/Polcouns that
AMU Secretary-General Habib Ben Yahya returned from New York
encouraged by the September 27 meeting of AMU Foreign
Ministers hosted by U/S Burns. Noting that the U.S. and the
states of North Africa had a common interest in promoting
regional cooperation and integration and mitigating disputes
that have hampered progress to date, Merchaoui passed on Ben
Yahya's sincere appreciation for the U.S. initiative in
organizing the meeting.
2. (C) Merchaoui said that Ben Yahya believed that it was
time to consider institutionalizing Ministerial-level
contacts between the USG and the Arab Maghreb Union States.
Merchaoui said that the AMU Foreign Ministers will hold an
extraordinary meeting in Tripoli in early December and
predicted that the gathering would produce a formal proposal
for biannual U.S.-AMU Ministerial-level consultations, once
annually on the margins of UNGA and once annually in one of
the AMU capitals.
3. (C) Merchaoui passed on Ben Yahya's thanks for receiving
"courtesies of the port" on arrival September 26, but also
claimed that Ben Yahya had received no such courtesies upon
departure from JFK airport on September 29. Instead, he
reported, Ben Yahya was "singled out" by TSA personnel for a
"humiliating" search and intensive questioning before being
cleared to board his Royal Air Maroc flight for Casablanca.
Merchaoui asked that we convey to Washington Ben Yahya's
disappointment over the incident.
4. (C) Comment: Ben Yahya, a former Tunisian Foreign
Minister (and former Defense Minister) and previously
Tunisian Ambassador to Washington, is a practical diplomat
comfortable dealing with the USG, but he is nonetheless
sensitive to protocol issues. While A/Polcouns passed on his
informal regrets for any discomfort he experienced, we sense
that Ben Yahya is looking for a formal apology from the USG.
End comment.
*****************************************
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat
*****************************************
Riley