MADAGASCAR: ISPS CODE DEMARCHE DELIVERED

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000631 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/EPS AND AF/E - MBEYZEROV E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EWWT ETRD ECON KHLS PTER PREL MA SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR: ISPS CODE DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: STATE 89648 (SBU) Emboff delivered reftel talking points to Director General of the Port, Maritime, and River Agency Jerome Sambalis September 3. Sambalis replied that progress had been made in the area of port security since the last US Coast Guard visit. Although work on the Tulear port is suspended due to a freeze of World Bank funding, a result of the coup d'etat last March, work at Majanga and at Diego Suarez, funded by the French Development Agency, is moving forward. The upgrades of the Diego port are due to be completed by February 2010. Other projects funded with the Agency's own money are also on hold, as the agency is focusing mainly on paying salaries, given the government budget crunch resulting from the loss of donor funds and the ongoing downward economic spiral, including reduced port activity. He welcomed a potential visit by the Coast Guard in November, if the political situation allows, and suggested that they meet with the local representative of a European advisory group who could discuss updates in port security around the island. MARQUARDT