IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS MESA SEAT - UAE CONSIDERING

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 000424 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/RA AND IO/T E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2018 TAGS: KNNP ENRG PREL IAEA AORC SY AE SUBJECT: IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS MESA SEAT - UAE CONSIDERING REF: SECSTATE 34113 Classified By: Martin Quinn, Charge d'Affaires a.i., for reasons 1.4 (b & d). ¶1. (S) Econchief took the opportunity of a April 3 meeting with MFA Director of International Organizations Yacub Al-Hosani to quietly urge the UAE to run for the open MESA seat on the IAEA Board of Governors. He applauded the UAE's desire to serve as a regional role model for the responsible development of peaceful nuclear power and the USG's belief that the now would be an ideal time for the UAE to consider its candidacy for the open IAEA board seat. Econchief explained that the USG would need to maintain an official policy of neutrality on who would be elected to fill regional group openings, but believed that the UAE would be a superior choice. Al-Hosani was not immediately opposed to the idea, noting that the UAEG would need to consider the issue and "bring in the technical side" of the government, presumably to see if the UAEG could effectively serve on the board of governors. He asked when the election would be and, when informed that it would be in September, said "good, we have time." ¶2. (S) The same day, Econchief discussed the issue with Hamad Al-Kaabi, the UAE's coordinator for the development of peaceful nuclear power. In addition to making the above points, econchief noted that, given the UAE's interest in rapidly evaluating and developing peaceful nuclear power, board membership should help facilitate cooperation with the IAEA that membership on the board of governors could have. Al-Kaabi thanked Econchief for the USG's support and promised to consider the suggestion. ¶3. (S) Comment: Both Al-Hosani and Al-Kaabi were not initially opposed to the idea that the UAE compete for the board position, despite the competing candidacy of Syria. Ultimately, however, a UAE decision to compete is not just a technical, but a political one. The UAE will need to consider, carefully, how this impacts its overall goal of maintaining friendly relations with its Arab neighbors. Post agrees with Department's goal to keep this discussion "discrete," as the UAE is especially sensitive to any insinuations that it is a tool of the USG. Much of the discussion with Al-Hosani dealt with the UAEG's disappointment that information shared with the USG (NFI) was being leaked to the press (septel). End Comment. QUINN