U/S DOBRIANSKY,S SEPTEMBER 25 MEETING WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 141820 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS CAIRO FOR M. RICCIARDONE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SENV KSCA LY SUBJECT: U/S DOBRIANSKY,S SEPTEMBER 25 MEETING WITH LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULRAHMAN SHALGAM REF: STATE 136038 This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶1. (U) September 25, 2007; 1700; New York City, United States. ¶2. (U) Participants: U.S. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Dobriansky NEA Senior S&T Advisor Lawson (Notetaker) Libya Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Shalgam Ambassador Ali Aujali Deputy Permanent Representative Mubarak Sofiane Belkheir (Notetaker) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In an expansive hour long discussion, U/S Dobriansky and FM Shalgam agreed that it is in both governments' interest to broaden the scope of U.S.-Libya cooperation beyond its current level. U/S Dobriansky informed the FM that the U.S. is ready to move forward with a Science and Technology (S&T) agreement and suggested that we could consider making this agreement a deliverable for a proposed visit by the Secretary. FM Shalgam immediately embraced the idea. He then noted Libya's interest in further expanding cooperation and, as appropriate, developing agreements to cover many additional areas, mentioning specifically education and cultural affairs, youth exchanges, media/journalist exchanges, energy, environment, double taxation, investment, and civil aviation. The U/S and the FM agreed to focus efforts on the S&T agreement and a cultural agreement in the run up to a possible visit by the Secretary. The FM expressed the hope that the Secretary could visit Libya in late October in conjunction with the high level meeting on Darfur that Libya will host on October 27. End Summary. -------------- Science and Technology Agreement -------------- ¶4. (SBU) U/S Dobriansky began the meeting by noting that the USG is interested in building on her July 2006 visit to Libya and OES A/S McMurray's November 2006 follow-up visit during which discussions on U.S.-Libya science and technology (S&T) cooperation began. She went on to say that the USG believed a good way to move the S&T dialogue forward would be to negotiate and conclude a U.S.-Libya S&T agreement. The U/S stated that the USG is ready to negotiate such an agreement and could send a negotiator to Libya at the Libyan Government's earliest convenience. She suggested that an S&T agreement might be one deliverable for a possible visit to Libya by the Secretary. ¶5. (U) FM Shalgam enthusiastically embraced the U/S's suggestion. He noted that there is a great need to strengthen Libya's S&T human resource capacity and rehabilitate its research laboratories. The FM said that Dr. Ahmad Fituri, Director of the MFA,s Americas Division, would be the Libyan coordinator for the negotiations and that they would welcome a visit by the U.S. negotiating team in the near future. The FM instructed Ambassador Aujali to facilitate the issuance of visas in Washington for the U.S. team. ¶6. (U) The FM said it was important for Libya that the S&T agreement be promptly implemented. Senior Advisor Lawson described how the U.S. typically implements such agreements. He noted that once an agreement is signed, the coordinators designated by each side begin consultations to develop an initial list of topics of common interest. Once those topics are identified, each side can put together an interagency team of experts to discuss the topics in more detail and develop recommendations for specific cooperation. The FM endorsed such an approach. -------------- STATE 00141820 002 OF 002 Other Areas of Cooperation -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In addition to his support for S&T cooperation, the FM also emphasized his strong support for broadening cooperation between Libya and the U.S. across the board. He stressed that the Libyan Government is ready and eager to expand and upgrade relations with the U.S. in all areas, noting that the bilateral U.S.-Libya relationship will grow stronger as more people from different sectors of both societies interact and develop personal and professional relationships. During the discussion, the FM mentioned the following specific areas of interest to Libya: -- Education and Cultural affairs. The FM noted that he had told NEA A/S Welch during their September 24 meeting (Reftel) that Libya has 2000 students identified and ready to be trained in the U.S. in many fields (including science and engineering). He expressed hope that two-way exchanges would become regularized and frequent. The FM informed the U/S that Libya would soon nominate a Cultural Attache for its Embassy in Washington, who will be able to facilitate exchanges. -- Youth and Media/Journalist exchanges. The FM said that Libya needs to provide its next generations with new opportunities. Youth exchanges could help in that area. He also noted that Libya needs to get beyond state run media, and he would like to institute journalist exchanges so that Libyan journalists can train in the U.S. for six months to a year. -- Energy and Environment cooperation. The FM noted the importance of these issues for Libyan development. We noted that these topics would be covered by the S&T agreement. -- Double Taxation and Investment agreements. The FM noted the importance of agreements on these issues to expand private sector engagement. -- Civil Aviation agreement. The FM said that with the expansion of the U.S.-Libya relationship and the concomitant expansion of travel between the two countries, a civil aviation agreement would facilitate people from both countries visiting the other. He noted that his GOL plane to New York was the first Libyan plane in over three decades to receive diplomatic clearance to fly non-stop from Tripoli. In a related comment, Amb. Aujali expressed concern that many Libyans transiting in Europe to an American carrier for a flight to the U.S. have problems with security. -------------- Preparing for a possible S Visit -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The U/S and the FM agreed that in the run up to a possible visit by the Secretary it makes sense to focus on a subset of all the cooperation areas they discussed. They agreed to focus on the S&T agreement and education and cultural affairs cooperation. ¶9. (SBU) As he had done in his meeting with A/S Welch (Reftel),Foreign Minister Shalgam told U/S Dobriansky that he hoped the Secretary would be able to visit Libya in late October in conjunction with the October 27 high level meeting on Darfur that Libya will host. ¶10. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. RICE