Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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09ADDISABABA2495 | 2009-10-20 09:13:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Addis Ababa |
VZCZCXRO4430 RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUEHDS #2495/01 2930913 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 200913Z OCT 09 FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6550 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7962 |
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002495 |
1. (SBU) Summary: In their first official meeting, USAU Ambassador Battle and AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha affirmed the need to broaden and deepen the U.S./AU partnership that began when the AU emerged seven years ago. Specifically, the AU leadership is seeking a strategic dialogue with the U.S. in Washington in the spring of 2010. As he did in his visit to Washington last spring, Mwencha again said the AU leadership would be interested in having a meeting with the Secretary and POTUS while in Washington, and he again issued an invitation for the President to address a future AU Summit. End Summary. 2. (SBU) On October 16, USAU Ambassador Battle, accompanied by A/DCM and AU Desk Officer, called on AU Deputy Chairperson Mwencha. Although it was the first meeting in Mwencha's AU headquarters office, they had met earlier in the day during the closing session of a Media Training workshop for AU Commission staff sponsored by USAU. Mwencha, a Kenyan who came to the AU via COMESA where he served as its executive secretary, wasted no time in expressing his appreciation for the Obama Administration's focus on Africa. The President's speech delivered from the national parliament in Accra, Ghana was "still resonating" across the continent, Mwencha said. "Africa does not need strong men; it needs strong institutions," he said, repeating the words that have struck an important chord. "That is the foundation of our future," Mwencha asserted. 3. (SBU) Mwencha went on to praise the new Administration for introducing a "soft approach" to diplomacy, and, as so many other AU officials and AU partner diplomats have done in recent days, he congratulated the President for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. "That shows the potential that there is," he said. POTUS has "changed the course of the international arena." 4. (SBU) Mwencha, regarded by most as the AU Commission's visionary and certainly the organization's leader on matters of institutional reform, took several minutes to provide the Ambassador with the AU's historical context and the principles that guide the AU today. In the seven years since the AU succeeded the OAU, the demand for AU resources has "grown exponentially" but the AU's capacity to respond has not kept up with the demand, Mwencha assessed. 5. (SBU) The AU Commission, which already has strategic partnerships with the European Union and other international partners, believes it is now time to engage in a strategic dialogue with the USG. "The U.S. is such a strong partner that our partnership should be deepened," he told the Ambassador. (Note: This is a message that all of the AU leadership has been bringing to our attention both in Washington and at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa in recent months. AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping would like to formalize this dialogue when he travels to Washington in the spring of 2010. End note.) Mwencha, in response to a question from the Ambassador, said the AU would like to both deepen and broaden the relationship. He previewed the spring 2010 visit to Washington by saying Chairperson Ping would like to meet with the Secretary and also have a courtesy call on POTUS. He also repeated the AU's desire to have POTUS address a future AU Summit. The Ambassador promised to relay this message to Washington. 6. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked Mwencha for his concise and helpful briefing of the AU, and confirmed the U.S. desire to solidify the bilateral dialogue. The Obama Administration is keen to work with partners to solve problems, he said. "Africa's future is up to Africans to decide. Our role is to be partners with Africans," the Ambassador told Mwencha. Africa is strategically significant, the Ambassador continued, citing the need to achieve food self-sufficiency on the continent. The Ambassador reviewed with Mwencha the new Administration's systematic review of Africa policy. The U.S. is also taking a look at what Africa will look like 100 years from now, including how a developed infrastructure will better serve the economies on the continent. ADDIS ABAB 00002495 002 OF 002 7. (SBU) Mwencha used this introductory meeting to thank the U.S. for supporting AMISOM and the Somali Transitional Federal Government. He assessed that neither AMISOM nor the TFG are strong enough on the ground to counter the potential spread of Al Qaida in the region. 8. (SBU) At a subsequent meeting with Mwencha, he emphasized his interest in having a USAFRICOM team consult with the AU on counternarcotics measures (see reftel). MEECE |