U.S. CANDIDATE FOR FAO/WHO CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION -

UNCLAS AMMAN 001610 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/T AND NEA/ELA CAIRO FOR AGMINCOUNS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD TBIO PINR JO SUBJECT: U.S. CANDIDATE FOR FAO/WHO CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION - DEMARCHE TO JORDAN DELIVERED REF: STATE 50336 ¶1. (SBU) EconCouns and FAS FSN delivered reftel demarche to Dr. Yaseen Khayyat, Director General of the Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology (JISM) who heads Jordan's National Codex Committee (and is the Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for the Near East),on May 27. Khayyat welcomed the candidacy of Dr. Karen Hulebak for Codex Chairperson, commenting that she is "highly, highly capable" and that it was "about time" she assumed the leadership position. He conveyed Jordan's support - he makes the voting decisions - and was confident that European members of the Codex Commission would also support her, but said the Middle East members would need "a lot of lobbying." Khayyat added that Jordan was a strong advocate of Hulebak for Codex Vice-Chairperson, a position in which she has excelled, and that Jordan would use its regional leadership role on food safety to promote her candidacy with commission members from the Middle East and Africa. Khayyat commented that the Malaysian candidate is qualified, but lacked the experience and respect enjoyed by Hulebak. He expected Commission members from Asia to support the Malaysian candidate, and said he had received a dipnote from the Malaysian Embassy seeking GOJ support. ¶2. (SBU) Khayyat added that while not yet official, he intended to run for Codex Vice-Chairperson. He requested U.S. support for his candidacy, and asked the U.S. to encourage other members to vote for him. EconCouns stressed that the U.S. does not reveal how it votes in international fora and does not engage in vote-trading, but said she would inform Washington of his candidacy. ¶3. (SBU) Post strongly encourages U.S. support for Khayyat's candidacy when announced. Khayyat has been an active Codex Commission member, and was lauded by FAO leadership for his successful management of the third session of the FAO/WHO (Codex) Regional Coordinating Committee for the Near East held in Amman in March 2005. Jordan is also a strategic regional ally with which the U.S. shares numerous interests. ¶4. (U) Biographic Information: Dr. Yaseen M. Khayyat was appointed Director General of JISM in December 2004. He was previously Director of the Industrial Chemistry Centre of the Royal Scientific Society. Dr. Khayyat obtained his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Cambridge University in the UK; he has a BS from High Point University and an AS from the Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Khayyat has published multiple technical studies, reports, and papers on a range of environmental issues. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ HALE