GREECE CONCURS WITH UAE IRENA HQ BID, FIELDS CANDIDATE FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001081 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EUR/PGI FOR D. TESSLER EUR/SE FOR I. GOODMAN AND A.SCARLATELLI EEB/ESC FOR D. MONOSSON IO/EDA FOR R. WEBER OES/EGC FOR G. THOMPSON DOE FOR P. YOSHIDA AND J. SKEER EPA FOR A. PHILLIPS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG KGHG TRGY SENV KSCA IEA GR SUBJECT: GREECE CONCURS WITH UAE IRENA HQ BID, FIELDS CANDIDATE FOR INTERIM DIRECTOR GENERAL REF: STATE 59971 ATHENS 00001081 001.2 OF 002 1.(SBU) We delivered reftel demarche to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Development on June 18, 2009. Both agencies emphasized Greece's strong support for IRENA and encouraged the United States to sign on to the statute. They also requested U.S. support for the Greek candidate for Interim Director General and concurred with the U.S. preference for UAE headquarters for the agency. 2.(SBU) In a June 23 meeting with POL officer and Senior ECON FSN, Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Development Ambassador Nicolas Matthioudakis and Special Secretary for International Energy Policy Elizabeth Typaldos-Loverdos underscored Greek support for IRENA and encouraged the United States to sign on to the statute. Matthioudakis and Typaldos-Loverdos expressed understanding that the United States will need Congressional support in order to reach agreement, but voiced optimism that the Obama Administration's interest in "green" issues would help to produce positive results. Matthioudakis also expressed hope that any technical legal issues that the United States has with the statute would be resolved by the June 28-30 meeting in Egypt and would not require amendment to the statute itself. 3.(SBU) Greece signed the IRENA statute on January 26, 2009 and Matthioudakis estimated that Greece will complete the ratification process by the end of 2009. He views IRENA as an opportunity for a global renewable energy platform, with a role "to help developing countries to green." Matthioudakis emphasized Greece's desire to see the agency created in a "cautious and intelligent way," particularly in its relations with other international organizations. 4.(SBU) Both the MFA and Ministry of Development requested U.S. support for Mr. Arthouros Zervos, the Greek candidate for Interim Director General of IRENA. They shared a hard copy of Mr. Zervos' curriculum vitae with PolOff. (Note: A scanned copy of Mr. Zervos' C.V. will be emailed to the Washington POCs listed in reftel point 17. End Note) 5.(SBU) In support of their nomination of Mr. Zervos for Interim Director General, Greece will field a high-level delegation to the June 28-30 meeting in Egypt, to include: Ambassador Eleftherios Angelopoulos, General Director for Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Nicolas Matthioudakis, Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Development Ioannis Bougas, Deputy Minister of Industry at the Ministry of Development Elisabeth Typaldos-Loverdos, Special Secretary for International Energy Policy at the Ministry of Development 6.(SBU) Matthioudakis noted that Greece will also support UAE's headquarters bid. ATHENS 00001081 002.2 OF 002 7.(U) Greek media reported that Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis met with her UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nayaham, on June 22 and discussed UAE's "extremely competitive candidacy" for IRENA's headquarters, as well as the Greek candidate for Interim Director General. SPECKHARD