PRESIDENT MUBARAK'S VISIT TO KHARTOUM AND JUBA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001654 DEPT FOR A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG, AF/E, NEA NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MUBARAK'S VISIT TO KHARTOUM AND JUBA ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Egyptian emboff told poloffs on November 12. that during President Hosni Mubarak's November 10 visit to Khartoum, he offered to invite Khalil Ibrahim to Cairo in an attempt to persuade the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to commit to peace talks in Qatar This offer has been welcomed by both President Bashir and the Qataris. In an otherwise largely symbolic but historic visit to Juba (the first ever by an Egyptian President to South Sudan),Mubarak met with Vice President Salva Kiir, and affirmed Egypt's commitment to making national unity attractive by announcing several new projects there in power, health and education. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On November 12 poloffs met with Tamer Azzam, political officer at the Egyptian Embassy, to be briefed on the surprise visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Khartoum and Juba on November ¶10. Azzam stated that the trip originated as a response to longstanding requests to visit Sudan from such GNU officials as Foreign Minister Deng Alor and Presidential Advisor Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail. Characterizing the visit as "more symbolic than anything," Azzam stated that it served to display both Egypt's support for unity in Sudan, and its commitment to making it attractive. President Mubarak was accompanied on this visit by his Foreign Minister, Intelligence Chief, Media Chief, and Minister for Presidential Affairs. ¶3. (SBU) President Mubarak and his delegation spent approximately 90 minutes in a meeting with President Bashir and other Sudanese government officials. Azzam stated that Bashir and Mubarak had a long discussion on Darfur, with Bashir briefing Mubarak on the evolution of the peace process from Abuja and Sirte to the Sudan People's Initiative. Azzam stated that Bashir was not happy with JEM's perceived reluctance to commit to talks, and that "he doesn't trust them. He thinks Khalil Ibrahim has his sights not on Darfur, but on Khartoum." President Mubarak responded by offering to invite Ibrahim to Cairo for discreet talks with unnamed GOS officials, in an effort to persuade JEM to commit to attending peace talks in Doha. Azzam characterized this offer as a continuation of the Egyptian's ongoing involvement in the peace process and said it was welcomed by Bashir, as well as the Qataris. "We expect to make this happen very soon, perhaps in the next month or so," he added. Mubarak also offered to speak to the French about putting additional leverage on Abdul Wahid Nur to attend the talks, he said. ¶4. (SBU) In addition to Darfur, Bashir and Mubarak also discussed CPA implementation and the importance of making north-south national unity attractive, as well as bilateral cooperation on economic development projects. Contrary to media reports, the ICC was not discussed or even mentioned said Azzam. ¶5. (SBU) Following his meeting in Khartoum, President Mubarak and his delegation flew to Juba in a trip designed to show Egypt's commitment to all of Sudan and to making unity attractive. In addition to meeting Vice President Salva Kiir (who is also President of the Government of South Sudan) to discuss CPA implementation and joint economic cooperation, Mubarak also visited the John Garang Memorial and Juba's Egyptian Clinic. He announced several new Egyptian commitments to development in the South, including the construction of four power plants, several new clinics, the opening of a new branch of Alexandria University in the South, and the establishment of 100 new scholarships for Southern Sudanese at Egyptian universities. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: This was only Mubarak's second visit to Khartoum since 1989, and his first ever to Juba. (Note: Relations between Egypt and Sudan have not been particularly warm since the 1995 Sudanese-supported assassination attempt on President Mubarak in Addis Ababa. End note.) The Juba visit is especially welcome as a boost to the fleeting effort to make unity attractive to Southern Sudanese and in recognizing the role of the SPLM and GOSS in Sudan. In terms of Darfur, Egypt's alleged offer to host an Ibrahim visit to Cairo could help jump-start the behind-the-scenes talks that will be prerequisite to successful negotiations. Qatar's amenability to Egyptian engagement is a promising development, as bickering among Arab League countries-particularly Libya--has the potential to sully the process. However, neither Libya nor Egypt is particularly happy about the Qatari initiative. Both presumably view the latter as Qatar's interfering in their neighborhood. FERNANDEZ