AFGHAN INAUGURATION DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO UAE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001068 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: PREL KDEM AF AE SUBJECT: AFGHAN INAUGURATION DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO UAE CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D. REF: STATE 115549 ¶1. (C) Ambassador delivered reftel demarche to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on November 11. Gargash said he would inquire as to senior-level UAE representation at the Afghan Presidential inauguration, but could not as yet confirm the level of Emirati participation. Gargash pointed out that the UAE has already established an Embassy in Kabul and has appointed an Emirati Ambassador to Afghanistan, who is currently waiting to take his oath of office before being dispatched. (Note: since the oath is taken in an appointment with the President, Shaykh Khalifa, the real issue is getting on the President's calendar, which can be time-consuming.) ¶2. (C) Gargash noted that President Karzai was warmly received at the November 9 Organization of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul -- Karzai's first foreign exposure since the election. According to Gargash, all the attendees congratulated Karzai, including Iran. Gargash reported that at the Istanbul meeting the UAE pledged continued engagement and called for greater regional and international cooperation. He also noted that Turkey was attempting to organize a future "neighbors of Afghanistan" summit for a larger group of states to include China, based on the model Iraq Neighbors conferences. Gargash saw the Istanbul meeting as signaling greater Turkish interest in Afghanistan, and indeed regional issues generally. OLSON