PSI: SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 UK-HOSTED PSI

UNCLAS STATE 031961 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM PREL SUBJECT: PSI: SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 UK-HOSTED PSI OUTREACH MEETING FOR GULF - LEVANT PSI PARTNERS IN LONDON REF: A. STATE 031896 ¶B. STATE 031939 SUMMARY ¶1. REFTELS A or B (different address groups) reported on the latest Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) Operational Experts Group (OEG) meeting hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom on February 4-6, 2008 in London. Following the OEG meeting, the UK Ministry of Defense hosted an outreach event for Gulf / Levant PSI partners. Representatives from six of the seven invited countries in the region participated: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE),and Yemen. The purpose of the meeting was to facilitate deeper understanding of PSI among partner countries in this region and to encourage increased participated in PSI activities. ¶2. Information contained in this cable is provided for Posts, information and is not to be passed to governments that attended the Outreach Meeting. A follow-on cable will provide a non-paper to pass to host nation governments of all PSI-endorsing states to keep them abreast of developments in the PSI community. END SUMMARY BACKGROUND ¶3. Meeting summary: UK hosted an Outreach Meeting in London on February 7, 2008 for PSI-endorsing states in the Gulf /Levant region. The meeting provided an overview of recent developments in the PSI community, reviewed legal aspects of PSI, shared insights into governmental decision-making processes for interdictions and summarized the intent and upcoming activities of PSI exercises. The meeting concluded with a description of a table top exercise. ¶4. The UK provided a comprehensive overview of PSI, covering everything from the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles to insights from legal, law enforcement, operational and intelligence experts. New Zealand shared its own experience with organizing to support the PSI commitment, which culminated in the development, testing and implementation of a PSI Model National Response Plan. A published copy of the Model National Response Plan, which includes the concurrence of 19 of the 20 participating countries in the Operational Experts Group (OEG) was distributed to each attending delegation. ¶5. Poland and the U.S. provided briefings on PSI exercises, including the benefits gained to national governments from participating in and observing PSI exercises as well as the specific lessons learned through participation. Some of those lessons included improving practical inter-ministerial cooperation and decision-making, enhancing regional cooperation and improving abilities to implement relevant UN Security Council Resolutions (i.e., 1540, 1718, 1737, and 1747). ¶6. The U.S. provided an overview of the legal aspects of PSI, including the basic premise that all PSI actions are undertaken on a voluntary basis by participating states in a manner consistent with national authorities and international legal frameworks. ¶7. All delegations were encouraged to attend the PSI 5th Anniversary event to be held in Washington on May 28-29, ¶2008. Formal invitations are expected to be sent by early March, 2008. ¶8. The U.S. announced a workshop for Middle East PSI partners that will take place in June, 2008. ¶9. Please slug responses for OSD GSA (Beth Flores) and State/ISN/CPI (Carlos Guzman). USG POC for PSI Operational Experts Group issues is Beth Flores, OSD/GSA. USG POC for operational legal matters is Chip Wedan, DOD/OGC. USG POC for PSI policy issues is Carlos Guzman, State/ISN/CPI. RICE