MAURITANIA: GLOBAL MARITIME PARTNERSHIPS DEMARCHE

UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000294 SIPDIS EEB/TRA/OTP (DORIS HAYWOOD) PM/ISO (JEFF FREDERICK) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EWWT EAID ECIN ECON EFIS MARR MASS MCAP MOPS PHSA, PINS, PREL, SMIG, SENV, SNAR, ASEC, MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: GLOBAL MARITIME PARTNERSHIPS DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: STATE 50488 EconOff delivered reftel demarche June 10 to Merchant Marine Director Mohamed Lemine Ould Sidi Brahim. Brahim said that increased regional and international cooperation in maritime affairs was important and stated that Mauritania recognized the importance of international commerce, safety, security, and freedom of the seas. He said that he believed Mauritania would benefit from greater cooperation in this area. While Brahim supported the need for greater cooperation, he appeared to have some reservations about the structure of the Global Maritime Partnership (GMP) Initiative. EconOff explained several times that the GMP was an approach to improve cooperation for maritime security and safety rather than an organization with formal membership and a bureaucratic structure. Brahim continued to ask repeated questions about the organizational structure, who was in charge, how a country became a formal member, and how the organization operated. He said that he did not understand how the GMP would operate if there was not someone at the top to launch initiatives and to organize the partnership,s activities. Mr. Brahim requested formal written documentation about the GMP to present to the Minister of Transportation. Hankins