AFRICAN AFFAIRS DISCUSSIONS AT THE ARAB LEAGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001851

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG, AF/E. AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2019
TAGS: PREL SU SO MR EG
SUBJECT: AFRICAN AFFAIRS DISCUSSIONS AT THE ARAB LEAGUE
MINISTERIAL

REF: A. CAIRO 1616 B. CAIRO 208 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Donald A. Blome for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1.(C) Key Points: -- The Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs told Arab League (AL) foreign ministers during the September 9-10 ministerial that Darfuri militia, civil society, and tribal leaders would come to Doha in early October to finalize "unification" of the Darfuri opposition groups, which would lead to peace talks with the Government of Sudan (GoS) at the end of October. -- The ministers expressed concern about the situation in southern Sudan. The AL believes African leaders must speak to Sudanese leaders to encourage calm, and SYG Moussa advocated for either a "civilized marriage" or "civilized divorce" to avoid an "explosion" in the South. -- The AL secretariat was frustrated that the Somali FM did not attend the ministerial and said it was hard to advocate for support for Somali given the minister's absence from the meetings. -- The AL is committed to protecting the "democratic regime" of General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in Mauritania by implementing the Dakar Agreement and participating in the International Contact Group on Mauritania. End Key Points.

2.(C) Comment: The Arab League is working closely with the African Union on Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania. Our contacts tell us the League would like to become more involved in Africa, but will probably struggle to finance projects in Africa with the exception of Sudan because of more pressing "Arab issues." End comment. -------------- -------------- Arab League Focused on Doha; Concerned About South Sudan -------------- --------------

3.(C) Zeid Al Sabban, African Affairs advisor to AL SYG Amr Moussa, told us on September 15 that Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania were the principal African Affairs topics at the September 9-10 Arab League ministerial. Al Sabban categorized the discussion on Sudan as "less tense" than in previous AL meetings because progress has been made in Darfur and the Egyptians know that all countries support the Doha process. Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdallah Al Mahmoud told the ministers that Qatar planned to have Darfuri militia, civil society, and tribal leaders come to Doha in early October to finalize "unification" of the Darfuri opposition groups, which would lead to peace talks with the GoS at the end of October. Al Sabban said Al Mahmoud is "committed" to the process and GoS officials believe Qatar is an "honest broker."

4.(C) Al Sabban said the ministers expressed concern about North-South and South-South problems. He stated that all ministers agreed South Sudan has the "right to secede," but wondered about the "viability" of South Sudan. SYG Moussa stressed that South Sudan needs to be a "good neighbor" in a "fragile neighborhood." Moussa advocated for either a "civilized marriage" or "civilized divorce" to avoid an "explosion" in the South. According to Al Sabban, the AL believes African leaders must speak to Sudanese leaders to encourage calm and the international community must assist SPLM leaders to return to John Garang's "language of wisdom" and provide humanitarian, economic, and infrastructural development assistance. As a sign of its commitment to providing assistance to South Sudan, Al Sabban said the AL sent a medical convoy to Abyei in late August and another in September to Wau, which together provided southern Sudan with 14 doctors and 23 metric tons of medical supplies. -------------- Frustrated with Somali "No-Show" --------------

5.(C) Al Sabban expressed frustration that the Somali FM did not attend the ministerial. He stated that Somalia "deserved more attention" at the ministerial meetings, but the AL found CAIRO 00001851 002 OF 002 it difficult to focus on Somalia or press member countries to provide funds for Somalia since the minister was absent (reftel A). Al Sabban mentioned that the Yemeni, Mauritanian, and Djiboutian ministers all found time to attend despite problems in their respective countries. He said a representative from the Somali Embassy in Cairo addressed the ministers, but did not ask for AL assistance. -------------- Pleased with Success in Mauritania --------------

6.Al Sabban believes things are improving in Mauritania (reftel B). He said the AL is committed to protecting the "democratic regime" of General Abdel Aziz by implementing the Dakar Agreement and participating in the International Contact Group on Mauritania. He claimed that AL involvement with Mauritania as an AL member state and the AL acting as a proxy for the African Union helped make the Dakar Agreement and "democratic elections" a "success." He said the AL will continue to be involved in Mauritania and mentioned that the AL's Ambassador for African Affairs, Samir Hosni, went to Mauritania on September 14.Scobey