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