OMANI COMMERCE MINISTER TARGETS JUNE FOR FTA

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000295 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP STATE PASS USTR FOR JBUNTIN COMMERCE FOR ITA THOFFMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018 TAGS: ETRD ECON PREL MU SUBJECT: OMANI COMMERCE MINISTER TARGETS JUNE FOR FTA COMPLETION REF: A. MUSCAT 263 ¶B. MUSCAT 144 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) On April 17, the Ambassador discussed the status of pending U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) action items with Commerce and Industry Minister Maqbool bin Ali Sultan. The Ambassador urged that, given the current debate in Washington over free trade, Oman quickly complete work on all outstanding implementation issues. Maqbool agreed, but added, "Just like you have to deal with your Congress, I have to deal with my Ministry of Health and Ministry of Legal Affairs." Nevertheless, the Minister expressed confidence that his government should be able to finish up by June. ¶2. (C) Turning to specific issues, Maqbool noted that the Ministry of Legal Affairs (MoLA) had completed its review of the copyright law, which now was in before with the Sultan for final approval. The MoLA had similarly finished its substantive work on the industrial property law, but the legislation was still being translated into Arabic before submission to the Sultan. ¶3. (C) On outstanding telecommunications issues, the Minister stated that he had been promised licensing criteria by the end of April, and pledged to go back to Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Chairman Mohammed al-Khusaibi for an update. On the pending "Government Use of Software Decree," the Ambassador highlighted the shortcomings of the document issued by the Information Technology Authority in November 2007 and suggested an updated decree that followed the U.S. proposal for the Ministry's review. (Note: This was the same model that we passed to the Ministry in November ¶2006. End Note.) Maqbool replied that the USG was "probably right" on this issue, but asked that telecommunications issues be resolved first before he went back to the ITA for an "upgrade" on the software decree. ¶4. (C) Comment: Upbeat during the meeting, the Minister believes that the end of the implementation process is in sight. In fact, during the well-attended Oman Economic Forum on April 13-14, Maqbool highlighted the FTA as a selling point for attracting more foreign investment to Oman. (Note: Even the TRA, which has been elusive over proposed licensing criteria, cited the FTA as a liberalizing factor during its presentation at the forum. End Note.) In addition, the Royal Oman Police has accepted the USG's proposed changes to an understanding related to customs administration compliance, and provided a copy of its express shipments regulations. Coupled with the issuance of new government procurement regulations, the Omanis are making their way to the goal post; however, the issuance of FTA-compliant telecommunications licensing criteria remains in question. End Comment. GRAPPO