NIGERIA: US/UK Roundtable Identifies Areas

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001971 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/09 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINS PTER KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: US/UK Roundtable Identifies Areas for Mutual Cooperation REF: (A) London 2308 (B) Abuja 1890 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Dundas C. McCullough for reasons in Sections 1.4. (B) and (D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Political, economic, military, law enforcement and development representatives from the US Mission to Nigeria and the UK High Commission met on October 20, 2009, to continue to discuss and coordinate ways that the two embassies could work together to promote common foreign policy goals in Nigeria in five distinct areas: continued engagement in the North, military cooperation, 2011 elections, anti-corruption efforts and the Niger Delta. This is the second roundtable discussion held with the UK. Potential future cooperation includes sharing information and analysis and coordinating messages development efforts. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The British High Commissioner, opened the meeting by affirming the good US/UK discussion held at Ditchley and the FCO in London that both he and the Ambassador attended and the commitment to a joint approach at both headquarters and field level (see reftel A). -------------- The North -------------- ¶3. (C) The US reaffirmed its commitment to expand public diplomacy efforts in the north to share our culture, and provide northern Nigerians the opportunity to know our country and our people. Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities, traveled to the north Oct. 8-11 and focused her outreach on Muslim youth (see reftel B). The US recognizes a need to reach out and talk to neglected constituencies in the north, including youth, universities, civil society and traditional rulers. ¶4. (C) The UK is trying to get high level leaders to focus on CT issues and threats and is working with lower-level leaders to challenge preconceptions of youth who may be susceptible to extremism. They do not feel that northern governors are doing enough to address underlying issues of development, economic opportunity, education, and good governance. DFID is working extensively in the north on poverty and marginalization issues and may expand aid there. Climate change has also been a major focus and the UK is working on the link between climate change and faith. They suggested reaching out to the French on northern border issues. -------------- Military Cooperation -------------- ¶5. (C) The UK is working with the Nigerian military in a number of areas including building a new maritime facility in Lagos, CT training, developing a Defense Management course at Nigerian Defense University, and installing a radar system in Calabar. In the Gulf of Guinea, they were concerned about overlapping efforts and stated a desire to see more coordination within the Gulf of Guinea Council. In particular, they stated Francophone initiatives are not being coordinated. There is some concern for disgruntled mid-level military in the field upset with their salary and benefits packages who might want military to regain power. ¶6. (C) The US shared that the Africa Partnership Station has representatives from EU militaries providing coordinated military assistance to Africa and that the US and UK meet regularly to coordinate military support. While we promote military to military cooperation, we cannot leave out the civilian component. The US works through MFA to ensure political concurrence. Both the US and UK felt that Nigeria does not want civil war and that the military understands the need to share power Qthe military understands the need to share power ABUJA 00001971 002 OF 003 between north and south. -------------- Elections -------------- ¶7. (C) The UK expressed concern that the 2009 legislative window is closing on electoral reform. The High Commissioner will do several speeches on democracy before the end of the year. He stated that deepening democracy is more than just elections; it is a process. They are looking for ways to monitor elections professionally and effectively as opposed to on an ad hoc basis and will look to the EU to assist as they do not have sufficient capacity within the UK mission. The UK is not doing capacity building with INEC but is working directly with political parties. DFID is looking at electoral hotspots where there has been violence during past elections and will have a report out in 2 weeks to share. ¶8. (C) The US is working on a major foreign policy speech for Lagos that will focus on four main themes - elections, anti-corruption, the Niger Delta, and energy and investment. The Anambra gubernatorial election is seen as a precursor to the 2011 presidential elections. The current Anambra governor has requested international observers and the registration deadline is mid-Nov. The US will do an advance trip to Anambra state in Nov. and additional funds have been requested to cover elections in 2011. USAID is training 15,000 local election monitors. -------------- Anti-Corruption -------------- ¶9. (C) The UK is encouraging cooperation between EFCC and the police and seeks to benchmark their performance, especially on high-profile government cases. Nigerians see this response as more of a political agenda than a corruption issue. The UK plans to do a speech to emphasize international standards on corruption. They emphasized that the international community has to work together to prevent corruption, i.e. by not allowing money laundering through their countries, and requested increased cooperation in this area. The UK has been providing assistance to combat human and drug trafficking and to improve control at airports with the result that traffickers have moved to land borders. They have now expanded their assistance there, especially in the North. ¶10. (C) The US provided sufficient evidence for prosecution of former governors but the EFCC is not moving forward due to lack of political will. CBN is naming and shaming bank directors, even those close to the President. This is a positive first for Nigeria. -------------- Niger Delta -------------- ¶11. (C) The UK expressed surprise at the initial success of the amnesty program and has supported the ongoing process through several public statements. DFID is looking at the underlying development issues and economic opportunities for militants in the camps. They expressed their concern for an integrated approach across states and stated that a portion of the ECA should be used for development. -------------- Petroleum Investment Bill -------------- ¶12. (C) There are currently four versions that need to be reconciled. The uncertainty of a pending bill could halt investment. Current contracts expire Nov. 2009 but could be extended for 1 more year. Feedback from a consultant to the Ministry of Finance was that Nigeria perceived a previous US/UK/FRA/NL demarche as a veiled threat. ABUJA 00001971 003 OF 003 -------------- Areas of Cooperation -------------- ¶13. (C) Both sides affirmed their commitment to a joint approach on specific policy issues vis-a-vis Nigeria and identified ways to work together including coordinating travel, sharing information and analysis of events, and coordinating speeches and messaging. We agreed to coordinate CT and drug interdiction activities and develop mechanisms for joint intelligence gathering and sharing. Acknowledging that we have a common interest in securing the maritime environment in the Gulf of Guinea, both sides agreed to greater coordination of activities in that region. In anticipation of the upcoming presidential elections, both sides expressed their desire to mobilize NGOs to work together on monitoring activities and bring in interested diaspora groups. We will continue to work closely with our British counterparts and communicate with them regularly in these and other areas to reinforce our joint foreign policy goals. SANDERS