UAE REVIEWING LIKE MINDED MEETING INVITATION

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 000938 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP (MCGOVERN) AND ISN (NEPHEW) TREASURY FOR COLLEEN STACK E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2019 TAGS: PARM KNNP MNUC UNSC PREL ETTC IR AE SUBJECT: UAE REVIEWING LIKE MINDED MEETING INVITATION REFS: STATE 100765 CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B AND D). ¶1. (S) The Ambassador shared reftel points inviting the UAE to the October 7 meeting of like-minded states on Iran with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash on September 29. Dr. Gargash told the Ambassador that he would discuss the invitation with appropriate UAEG officials, including UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba. Post will follow up and report additional information as available. Gargash suggested that Assistant Minister for Political Affairs (in some sense the UAE's "P" equivalent) Tariq Al Haidan might attend. ¶2. (S) Comment: Given the sensitivity of the topic, the UAE delegation is likely to be comprised of key political officials only. Ambassador Al Otaiba, the former director of International Affairs for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, is likely to join if not lead the UAE delegation. Unfortunately, the UAEG does not have senior level technical people who can translate broad political directives into specific actions. Having a purely technical delegation is not likely to have the desired effect, as least as we understand the nature of the meeting. End Comment OLSON