UAE RESPONSE TO ILLICIT DIAMOND ACTIVITY IN ZIMBABWE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001463 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, AF/S (WALCH, MARBURG) AND EEB/MTA (SARNIO) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ETRD ECON EFIN ASEC ZI AE SUBJECT: UAE RESPONSE TO ILLICIT DIAMOND ACTIVITY IN ZIMBABWE REF: STATE 126054 ¶1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Abu Dhabi - Consulate General Dubai cable. ¶2. (SBU) On December 1, post delivered reftel talking points via diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Post also passed the points to Ali Fayel, the Ministry of Economy's point-of-contact on the Kimberley Process (KP). On December 23, Fayel told EconOff that he had passed the information to the UAE's KP office and was still awaiting an official response. Fayel said that a team visited the UAE from Zimbabwe to examine the smuggled diamonds seized by Dubai Customs in October 2008, but that he understood Customs had been unable to schedule the examination during the visit. Fayel said he was in the process of following up with UAE KP officials and would provide more details in the new year. Post will report further information when available. ¶3. (SBU) On December 15, Dubai PolEconOff passed reftel points to David Rutledge (CEO Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC)) and Youri Steverlynck (CEO, Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE)). Rutledge commented that the certifying countries should be held accountable for KP violations, not countries, like the UAE, who do not certify diamonds. Rutledge and Steverlynck stated the DMCC would put out a notice to traders alerting them to the possibility of illicit Zimbabwean diamonds and forged paperwork. Steverlynck noted he had just received a packet from the KP working group on specifications helpful in identifying illegal Zimbabwean diamonds. Rutledge and Steverlynck also expressed concern about protecting the DDE's reputation and expressed willingness to work with EEB/MTA Sue Saarnio and the KP working group on the issue. GREENE