LEBANON: SWINE FLU WILL NOT DISRUPT THE BEGINNING OF THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000986 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND EEB/IFD/ODF STATE PASS USTR FRANCESCKI STATE PASS USAID LAUDATO/NANDY/SCOTT TREASURY FOR PARODI/BLEIWEISS/AHERN USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE NSC FOR SHAPIRO/MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EINT ETRD KFLU PGOV SCUL LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: SWINE FLU WILL NOT DISRUPT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR (ECONOMIC WEEK IN REVIEW, AUGUST 24 - 30, 2009) CONTENTS -------------- -- SWINE FLU CASES REACH 600, SCHOOL YEAR TO PROCEED AS USUAL -- ECONOMY MINISTRY HOLDS WORKSHOP ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE -- USAID-FUNDED PROJECT FOCUSES ON STRENGTHENING JUDICIARY -- LEBANON'S CONNECTIVITY RANKING FALLS REGIONALLY, MOBILE PENETRATION TO INCREASE WITH PRIVATIZATION SWINE FLU CASES REACH 600, SCHOOL YEAR TO PROCEED AS USUAL -------------- ¶1. (U) Following a meeting with Minister of Education Bahia Hariri on August 26, Minister of Public Health Mohammad Khalifeh announced that the number of swine flu cases had reached approximately 600, up from 500 last week. Hariri and Khalifeh insisted the GOL would not delay the upcoming school year because of the flu, but they maintained they would take necessary precautions, placing doctors in schools and initiating awareness campaigns to prevent children who may be infected from going to school. ¶2. (SBU) An advisor to Khalifeh, Rasha Hamra, told us on August 24 that the ministry has medication on hand to treat the flu and is sending it to hospitals with confirmed flu cases. She said the GOL would soon submit a purchase order through the World Health Organization for the swine flu vaccine, but does not expect to receive the order before the beginning of 2010. ECONOMY MINISTRY HOLDS WORKSHOP ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE -------------- ¶3. (U) On August 25, the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MOET),in collaboration with the MEPI-funded WTO Accession project at the MOET, held a workshop on the WTO's Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. After a presentation by Booz Allen Hamilton senior technical advisor Ed Nemeroff, MOET's legal consultants presented the draft law on technical regulations, which is still being revised by the GOL stakeholders, before being sent for cabinet and parliament approval. ¶4. (SBU) In a separate meeting on August 24, MP and former head of the parliamentary economic committee Nabil de Freij told us that more media campaigns are needed to raise awareness on the importance of WTO accession among the general public. De Freij, a staunch ally of PM-designate Saad Hariri and member of March 14, said that Hariri has the political will to move forward on WTO accession, and placed all blame for the lack of progress on passage of WTO legislation on the opposition. Econoff pointed out that March 14 had prevented a quorum in almost all parliamentary sessions in the first half of 2009, preventing passage of legislation, while Lama Oueijan, a WTO expert and advisor to the Minister of Economy and Trade, noted that Hizballah had been helpful to the MOET in its preparation of legislation. (Note: Although invited, no MPs, including De Freij, attended the TBT workshop. End note.) USAID-FUNDED PROJECT FOCUSES ON STRENGTHENING JUDICIARY -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Econoff and econstaff met with National Center for State Courts' (NCSC) USAID-funded Lebanon Judicial Strengthening Project head Philippe Lamarche and deputy head Gary Collins. Given that one of the most important obstacles to improving the intellectual property (IP) environment in Lebanon remains at the level of the judiciary, econoff inquired about the possibility of increased IP content in the NCSC program, especially at the Judicial Training Institute (JTI),at which all local judges are trained. The project, running since December 2007, focuses on strengthening the judicial sector in Lebanon, including an overhaul of the JTI and its curriculum and providing assistance to the Higher Judicial Council in developing a strategic plan for the judicial sector. Lamarche said the primary focus of the program is strengthening the independence of the judiciary and improving access to justice. LEBANON'S CONNECTIVITY RANKING FALLS, MOBILE PENETRATION TO INCREASE WITH PRIVATIZATION BEIRUT 00000986 002 OF 002 -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) The Arab Advisors Group 2009 Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM) ranked Lebanon 14th out of 19 MENA countries, down from 10th in the previous survey. The survey uses penetration of fixed lines, mobile lines, and internet to measure information and communication technology (ICT) services in each country. An earlier report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) stated that Lebanon's internet penetration was at 37.7% in 2008, up by 10.9% from 2007, with the aggregate number of internet users up by 65.3% to over 1.5 million in 2008, and a 16% surge in mobile phone penetration, which came at the expense of fixed lines. ¶7. (U) Meanwhile, the Lebanese Telecommunications Regulatory Authority's annual report reported that mobile penetration reached 35.7% in 2008. It forecast the rate to reach 60% in 2014, if the privatization of the two current mobile operators takes place by 2010 and the GOL issues a third mobile license in 2011. SISON