LEGAL ISSUES IMPEDE GLOBE PROGRESS IN OMAN

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000190 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, OES/PCI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPL KGLB PREL MU SUBJECT: LEGAL ISSUES IMPEDE GLOBE PROGRESS IN OMAN ¶1. (U) On March 1, GLOBE Deputy Director Teresa Kennedy, GLOBE Desk Officer Russanne Low, and Econoff met with Ministry of Education officials Amal Abdullah Mohamed al-Busaidia, Director General of Curricula, Zuwaina Saleh al-Maskaria, Deputy Director General of Curricula, and Sana Sabeel al-Belushi, Director of Technical Programs, to discuss the status of the proposed GLOBE agreement. ¶2. (U) In reviewing the outstanding points of the draft, Kennedy stated that NASA had accepted the Ministry's suggestions to change the term "Agreement" to "Memorandum of Understanding" in the Title, and replace "The U.S. and Country Party will use reasonable efforts to" with "The U.S. Party and Country will be responsible for providing the following" in Articles 1(A) and (B). Kennedy also confirmed concurrence to re-label Article 7 to read "Consultations" instead of "Settlement of Disputes," and provided a list of GLOBE equipment for Oman to ministry officials in response to Omani customs concerns that the exemption of unspecified products from duties could lead to unintended loopholes. ¶3. (U) Regarding Article 6, Kennedy explained the reasoning behind the passage governing invention and patent rights. On Oman's request to strike Article 8, she responded that the USG could not agree based on the importance of protecting both parties from liability concerns. Finally, in response to ministry concerns over the Arabic translation of "respective responsibilities," Kennedy asked the officials to provide an alternative. ¶4. (U) Belushi responded that her ministry would need to consult with the Ministry of Legal Affairs on the remaining issues. In preparation for the agreement's implementation, Kennedy asked that the Ministry of Education begin the process of nominating both a country coordinator and ten schools that would initially participate in the program. She also mentioned that appropriate ministry officials would need to be trained on GLOBE-related issues, and suggested the possibility of Oman hosting the 2009 Near East and North Africa Consortium. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: While Ministry of Education officials are excited about Oman becoming a GLOBE participant, progress on concluding the agreement remains elusive. Little substantive advancement has been made since Econoff last raised USG concerns back in September 2005. The visit by GLOBE officials has placed the agreement back on the front burner; however, it will be difficult to coax quick action by the Ministry of Legal Affairs in accepting the liability article. End comment. GRAPPO