PRIVATE-SECTOR OUTREACH AND THE GLOBAL INITIATIVE

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/WMDT: BRIAN HOOPER, T: TIM KATSAPIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL PTER KGIC IAEA CY SUBJECT: PRIVATE-SECTOR OUTREACH AND THE GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM REF: SECSTATE 5399 ¶1. Per reftel, PolOff on January 30 demarched First Secretary Panayiotis Papadopolous, Department of Multilateral SIPDIS Affairs, Cypriot MFA, to encourage the Cypriot government to conduct private sector outreach in support of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GI). Papadopolous questioned what role businesses could play in combating nuclear terrorism, as it seemed to him strictly a government responsibility. In response, PolOff noted our successes in recruiting large firms like General Electric and AIG in the fight; the GoC might focus on the numerous shipping companies calling Cyprus home. Papdopoulos committed to giving our request full consideration and examining ways to employ the island's private sector in the GI campaign. ¶2. Logistics prevented us from conducting this MFA demarche jointly with the Russian Embassy, as reftel requested. We provided a backbrief to Russian DCM Alexander Shcherbakov, however, and asked that he deliver similar points to Papadopoulos. SCHLICHER