SPANISH PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL COMPACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000529 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE, NEA/I TAECKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2018 TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL IZ SP SUBJECT: SPANISH PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL COMPACT WITH IRAQ REF: STATE 43799 Classified By: Charge Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Spanish MFA Deputy Director for Middle East Affairs, Alberto Ucelay, in response to reftel demarche, said that newly appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada will head Spain's delegation at the upcoming conference. He assured us that Spain would continue working to solidify and expand support for Iraq. Spain will also continue to fulfill its financial pledges. ¶2. (U) Spanish MFA Sub-Director for Middle East Affairs, Maria Luisa Huidobro Martin-Laborda, reports that Spain disbursed 100 percent of its Madrid Conference Pledge, with the qualifying information that some concessional loans have not been finalized due to Iraqi capacity issues. The Spanish MFA said that specific project proposals for the concessional loans are pending at this time. ¶3. (U) Spain also participates, through the EU initiative EUJUST LEX, in efforts to rebuild Iraqi capacity. In the second half of 2007 Spain trained 39 police officials, 20 prison officials and 25 judges. In March, Spain hosted a delegation of Iraqi electoral commission employees to learn about the Spanish general elections and democratic practices. There are plans to continue the programming in 2008. ¶4. (U) With regard to Iraqi displaced persons, Spain contributed 800,000 euros to an EU program to alleviate the situation in Jordan and Syria. ¶5. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada is the former MFA Director General for Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Although he did not agree with every aspect of U.S. CT policy, Lossada has shown himself in the past to be a reliable interlocutor and has emphasized the role of international cooperation in the fight against violent extremism. Lossada worked hard to ensure Spain played a key role in international nonproliferation regimes and his office did a great deal to support U.S. actions on Iran and within the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear terrorism. He speaks decent English and has been willing in the past to organize MFA roundtables on CT for high-level U.S. visitors such as S/CT Coordinator Dell Dailey. In his new position as the "number two" for Foreign Minister Moratinos, Lossada will be the only career diplomat among the four key advisors on Moratinos' team. Llorens