ARAB PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT FLAUNTS KURDS'

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000784 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS PINR IZ SUBJECT: ARAB PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT FLAUNTS KURDS' DEVELOPMENT, LOYALTY TO IRAQ Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Arab Parliamentary Union (APU)'s semi-annual conference convened March 11-13 in Erbil. Kurdistan Regional Government officals called the event immensely important for the Kurdish region for three reasons: it advertised Erbil as an investment haven, demonstrated the KRG's commitment to a unified Iraq, and positioned the Kurdish region on the leading edge of Iraq's emergence from international isolation. Iraqi CoR Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani was elected APU President for the next two years. While the event produced little of substance in terms of Arab parliamentary politics, its Kurdish hosts were delighted at having gained international exposure and positive feedback from their Arab guests. End summary. ¶2. (C) The APU held its 13th meeting over three days at Erbil's new convention center. Over 200 delegates from 19 Arab countries attended, in addition to Ambassador Crocker and other members of the diplomatic corps. Iraqi President Talabani, KRG President Barzani, and Iraqi Council of Representatives (COR) Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani chaired the opening and closing sessions, alongside APU Secretary General Nour Eddin Bouchkouj and APU President (and Jordanian Parliament Speaker) Abd al-Hadi al-Majali. The conference's Kurdish organizers hailed it as an important step for Iraq out of international isolation, saying Iraq had been due to host this event since 1995, and stressed the symbolic importance of making such a statement in the Kurdish capital. ¶3. (C) KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told our PRT leader that advertising Erbil's recent development was a major reason for hosting the conference. Erbil has grown rapidly since 2003, and Barzani said the lavish convention center was built specifically for this event. The KRG Prime Minister was especially pleased at high-level representation from the wealthy Gulf countries, citing them as potentially invaluable sources of investment for Erbil,s future development. Both Barzanis have made recent visits to the small Gulf countries to promote investment in Northern Iraq, and Nechirvan Barzani has told us several times that he keeps Doha and Dubai in mind as models for developing Erbil. ¶4. (C) Barzani said the conference also helped counter Arab suspicions of Kurdish separatism. In his view, by hosting the conference the Kurds demonstrated that the KRG remains a loyal part of Iraq ) a point many of the speakers reinforced ) and Barzani said he expects widespread coverage on the Arab satellite networks to blunt the common criticism that Iraqi Kurds seek independence. Speeches by KRG President Massoud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani both implicitly refuted suspicions of Kurdish separatism by highlighting Iraqi Kurds, fraternity with Arabs and commitment to a unified Iraq. Perhaps most importantly, the new Iraqi flag was on prominent display throughout the convention center and on the road from the airport; Iraq,s parliament in January approved the new flag specifically because the Kurds had refused to fly the Saddam-era flag over this event. ¶5. (C) Fuad Hussein, Barzani,s chief of staff, said the impression of Arab delegates was overwhelmingly positive. Hussein claimed one delegate said no previous Arab Parliamentarians, Conference had gone so well, and that &we were wrong about you (the Kurds) in every way. We were wrong about your history, about your situation here.8 A member of the Bahrain Council of Representatives (COR) reportedly joked ) no doubt to Hussein,s delight ) that &Iraq would be better if the Kurds ruled it!8 Hussein concluded that the conference was hugely important because &the Arab world now knows who the Kurds are.8 ¶6. (C) The conference itself dealt with familiar themes for pan-Arab convocations, but avoided condemning the U.S. ) probably a sign of Kurdish intervention. An Arab League rep obliquely slighted the U.S. by referring to &occupied8 Iraq, but the term prompted highly-publicized objections from Iraqi Deputy Speaker Khaled Attiya and Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem al-Khorafi. Other speeches lamented instability in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Sudan, and Somalia, lambasted Israel, invoked Iraqi unity and national reconciliation, decried terrorism for slandering Islam, called the Arab nation to unite to solve these problems, and pondered how Arab parliaments can help. The delegates passed unanimous resolutions on these and other issues, though none were particularly actionable. At the closing ceremony, Mashadani was elected APU President for the next two years. CROCKER