FM ZEBARI PROVIDES LATEST ON OPENING OF ARAB

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 001760 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ IN AE SUBJECT: FM ZEBARI PROVIDES LATEST ON OPENING OF ARAB EMBASSIES TO S/I SATTERFIELD REF: (A) BAGHDAD 1734 (B) AMMAN 1723 Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller. Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request for Embassies New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. See para 6. ¶2. (S) During a June 9 meeting with S/I Satterfield, Iraqi FM Zebari provided updated information on efforts to encourage Arab countries to open Embassies in Baghdad. Recent events, including the June 5 visit of UAE FM Abdullah bin Zayed to Baghdad (Ref A) and the June 5 discussions in Amman between an Embassy Baghdad delegation and senior Jordanian officials on specific GOJ concerns (Ref B),show that "things are really moving forward," FM Zebari said. ¶3. (S) On the UAE front, FM Zebari told S/I Satterfield that ABZ had called the day before to inform him that the UAE will name their current Ambassador in New Delhi to be UAE Ambassador to Iraq (NFI). He noted that during ABZ's one-day visit, he had shown him the proposed new UAE Embassy site and ABZ's response was very positive. He also had discussed the timing of PM Maliki's proposed visit to the UAE and noted they have run into a problem with the dates. PM Maliki has requested June 16-17, on the eve of the Friends of Iraq Conference in Abu Dhabi. UAE PM Mohammed bin Rashid will not be available then and the UAE has proposed June 23-24 as an alternative. Both S/I Satterfield and FM Zebari agreed that a Maliki-bin Rashid meeting is critical for moving the process forward and must be an essential part of a Maliki visit. ¶4. (S) In addition to the UAE developments, Bahrain FM Khalid Al Khalifa had recently told Zebari the GOB would be naming an Ambassador shortly, a Jordanian technical team is expected here soon after PM Maliki's June 14 visit to Amman to discuss both security and financial aspects of reopening an Embassy, and Egypt also intends to send a technical team soon but, noted Zebari, is "having a hard time finding a candidate" willing to serve as Ambassador to Iraq due to safety concerns. ¶5. (S) S/I Satterfield and PolCouns Tueller informed FM Zebari that they would visit Kuwait later this week to discuss, among other topics, specific locations to site a Kuwaiti Embassy and the types of technical support the U.S. Embassy could provide to facilitate this effort. In this context, FM Zebari recalled the UK proposal to have both Kuwait and Turkey play a role in Basra reconstruction. Zebari said that the GOI's view is "let's start with Kuwait" and bring the Turks in later when the political situation is better. He noted that U.S. assistance to encourage the Kuwaitis to move forward on this would be welcome. ¶6. (S) Action request for Embassies New Delhi and Abu Dhabi: In light of the information ABZ conveyed to Zebari, Embassy Baghdad seeks information on the UAE's current Ambassador to India and any biographic data that is available. Posts' assistance is greatly appreciated. BUTENIS