Ambassador Swing Meets OIC Members

UNCLAS DAKAR 000364 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, PRM AND INR/AA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PREF SG SUBJECT: Ambassador Swing Meets OIC Members ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During a two-day visit to Senegal to promote his candidacy for the position of director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the margins of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit in Dakar, Ambassador William ¶L. Swing met with key member countries. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Following a personal invitation to come to Dakar by Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, Ambassador Swing held a series of successful bilateral meetings where countries pledged their support for his candidacy. By both underlining the fact that the current Amcit incumbent, who is running for an unprecedented third term, does not have the support of his own government and has reneged on his pledge to step down after having served two terms, Ambassador Swing built a strong case for his candidacy based on his years of experience as both a six-time ambassador and most recently as head of a United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he managed over 22,000 people and a budget of USD 1.2 Billion. Pledge of Support -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Senegal's Foreign Minister not only said that his country would support Ambassador Swing, he added that he would make calls on Swing's behalf if necessary. The Foreign Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Maria de Conceicao Nobre Cabral, also pledged her support saying that she would send the Bissau-Guinean Ambassador in Brussels to attend the June 18 vote in Geneva. Ambassador Swing also met with delegations from the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Cote D'Ivoire's Ambassador to Senegal. SMITH