FOREIGN MINISTER DESCRIBES EGYPTIAN HUMANITARIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002581 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/S E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2018 TAGS: EAID PREL PGOV EG ZM SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DESCRIBES EGYPTIAN HUMANITARIAN AID TO ZIMBABWE REF: CAIRO 1794 Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Just prior to CODEL Dorgan's meeting with President Mubarak on December 14 (septel),Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in response to a question from Senator Dorgan, said that the situation in Zimbabwe was dire, especially with the outbreak of cholera there, and that Egypt was sending emergency humanitarian supplies on a regular basis to Harare. The latest shipment, he said, was an electricity generator to provide power to a water treatment plant, since parts of Zimbabwe are dangerously low on safe water. ¶2. (C) Aboul Gheit said that Egypt, as a friendly African neighbor, had advised the Mugabe government to "take urgent action" to deal with the country's crisis, including opening up a dialogue with the political opposition. Unfortunately, "Mugabe will not listen." When Senator Dorgan asked why President Mugabe would not listen to the advice of respected neighbors such as Egypt, Aboul Gheit said, "because of our skin color." According to Aboul Gheit, Mugabe simply will not listen to anyone "who is not a black African," including other non sub-Saharan members of the AU, like Egypt. ¶3. (C) Aboul Gheit said that despite the Mugabe government's unwillingness to listen to Egyptian advice, Egypt had sent ten doctors and eight pharmacists to help with the worsening public health situation in Zimbabwe. Aboul Gheit said that he controls a special "African development fund" (Note: This is probably a reference to the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA) (reftel)) that he uses to assist in humanitarian and development projects throughout Africa, lamenting that recently the lion's share of the fund was being devoted to Zimbabwe. He added that Egypt sends a C-130 military cargo airplane full of supplies to Harare every two weeks, including "100,000 injections" for cholera. He said that Egypt had contemplated sending even more cholera medicine to Zimbabwe, but had decided against it as it would have drawn down Egypt's own strategic reserves of the medicine. ¶4. (C) Another hindrance to increased Egyptian aid to Zimbabwe, Aboul Gheit explained, is the huge amount of government corruption there. "We know that most of the supplies we send they (the Mugabe government) keep for themselves." Senator Dorgan asked if President Mubarak ever spoke directly with president Mugabe. Yes, said Aboul Gheit, "they used to be good friends." Mubarak has advised Mugabe to be "more flexible" in dealing with the political opposition in Zimbabwe, Aboul Gheit said, "but Mugabe won't listen to anyone any more." Perhaps the best answer to Zimbabwe's ills, Aboul Gheit opined, would be for Robert Mugabe to "retire to another country." However, he stressed, "there is no sign he would be willing to do that, yet." ¶5. (C) Comment: While Egypt will probably continue to supply Zimbabwe with small amounts of humanitarian aid, it will likely defer to South Africa, the AU, and other countries in Southern Africa to devise a political solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe. SCOBEY