Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DOHA545
2008-07-31 13:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Doha
Cable title:
AMBASSADOR'S SWEARING IN AND ARRIVAL GARNER
how-toVZCZCXRO0382 PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR DE RUEHDO #0545 2131332 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 311332Z JUL 08 FM AMEMBASSY DOHA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8095 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE RHMFIUU/USAFCENT SHAW AFB SC RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
UNCLAS DOHA 000545
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW STEINFELD
NEA/PPD FOR WALTER DOUGLAS
R/PPR FOR GRETCHEN WELCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO QA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S SWEARING IN AND ARRIVAL GARNER
POSITIVE PD COVERAGE
UNCLAS DOHA 000545
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW STEINFELD
NEA/PPD FOR WALTER DOUGLAS
R/PPR FOR GRETCHEN WELCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO QA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S SWEARING IN AND ARRIVAL GARNER
POSITIVE PD COVERAGE
1. (U) SUMMARY: Ambassador's swearing-in ceremony in
Portland, Oregon and immediate engagement in Arabic with the
Qatari press, were well covered by the Qatari media and
should present a solid basis for using the long-awaited
arrival of a U.S ambassador to expand the Mission's
engagement with the Qatari public. END SUMMARY
2. (U) Ambassador LeBaron's July 18 swearing-in at a
ceremony at Portland State University in Oregon was covered
widely in Qatar's Arabic and English press. Portland State,
the Ambassador's alma mater, is also a popular university for
students from Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf; over 2,000
Gulf Arabs have graduated from the university, according to
Portland State.
3. (U) The swearing-in coincided with a reunion of Gulf PSU
alumni, and was designed to use the Ambassador's appointment
to build immediate connections with the Qatari people.
Ambassador was greeted upon his arrival in Portland by six
Qatari students from the area, and he was the keynote speaker
at a reunion dinner for alumni of Portland State from the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Ambassador read a
letter of welcome at the dinner from the Qatari Justice
Minister, who is president of the GCC alumni group and one of
more than 250 Portland State alumni from Qatar.
4. (U) As part of the events surrounding the swearing-in
ceremony, Ambassador met in Portland with several Oregonian
businesses with an interest in Qatar, and visited the
headquarters of Mercy Corps, a non-governmental organization
that is exploring joint relief projects in Iraq with Qatar's
Reach Out to Asia organization. In addition to radio and
print interviews, he addressed the World Affairs Council of
Oregon. Six of Qatar's Arabic and English newspapers ran
prominent coverage of the swearing-in ceremony and associated
events, along with a photo of the Qatari students greeting
the Ambassador.
5. (U) Upon landing in Qatar on July 28, Ambassador
delivered an arrival statement to the local media. Speaking
in Arabic and English, he emphasized the positive bilateral
relationship and conveyed his desire to deepen our strategic
friendship with Qatar and increase opportunities for American
businesses and ideas. Qatar Radio ran coverage of the
statement the same night, and all of Qatar's Arabic and
English language newspapers provided prominent coverage and
images on July 29 and 30.
LeBaron
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW STEINFELD
NEA/PPD FOR WALTER DOUGLAS
R/PPR FOR GRETCHEN WELCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO QA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S SWEARING IN AND ARRIVAL GARNER
POSITIVE PD COVERAGE
1. (U) SUMMARY: Ambassador's swearing-in ceremony in
Portland, Oregon and immediate engagement in Arabic with the
Qatari press, were well covered by the Qatari media and
should present a solid basis for using the long-awaited
arrival of a U.S ambassador to expand the Mission's
engagement with the Qatari public. END SUMMARY
2. (U) Ambassador LeBaron's July 18 swearing-in at a
ceremony at Portland State University in Oregon was covered
widely in Qatar's Arabic and English press. Portland State,
the Ambassador's alma mater, is also a popular university for
students from Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf; over 2,000
Gulf Arabs have graduated from the university, according to
Portland State.
3. (U) The swearing-in coincided with a reunion of Gulf PSU
alumni, and was designed to use the Ambassador's appointment
to build immediate connections with the Qatari people.
Ambassador was greeted upon his arrival in Portland by six
Qatari students from the area, and he was the keynote speaker
at a reunion dinner for alumni of Portland State from the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Ambassador read a
letter of welcome at the dinner from the Qatari Justice
Minister, who is president of the GCC alumni group and one of
more than 250 Portland State alumni from Qatar.
4. (U) As part of the events surrounding the swearing-in
ceremony, Ambassador met in Portland with several Oregonian
businesses with an interest in Qatar, and visited the
headquarters of Mercy Corps, a non-governmental organization
that is exploring joint relief projects in Iraq with Qatar's
Reach Out to Asia organization. In addition to radio and
print interviews, he addressed the World Affairs Council of
Oregon. Six of Qatar's Arabic and English newspapers ran
prominent coverage of the swearing-in ceremony and associated
events, along with a photo of the Qatari students greeting
the Ambassador.
5. (U) Upon landing in Qatar on July 28, Ambassador
delivered an arrival statement to the local media. Speaking
in Arabic and English, he emphasized the positive bilateral
relationship and conveyed his desire to deepen our strategic
friendship with Qatar and increase opportunities for American
businesses and ideas. Qatar Radio ran coverage of the
statement the same night, and all of Qatar's Arabic and
English language newspapers provided prominent coverage and
images on July 29 and 30.
LeBaron