EGYPT: TRADE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK

UNCLAS CAIRO 000444 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE PASS USTR USDA/FAS for ACTING ADMINISTRATOR HALE E.0. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR EFIN PREL EG SUBJECT: EGYPT: TRADE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK REF: CAIRO ¶1. (SBU) Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Rachid will visit Washington March 22-25. He plans meetings with Administration officials, representatives from business organizations, and members of Congress. He will not be traveling with a business delegation. Rachid is a key reformer in the Egyptian government, and a friend to the U.S. He was the driving force behind the QIZ agreement between Egypt and Israel, and continues to support expansion of bilateral trade between the U.S. and Egypt. He has not visited the U.S. since December 2005, when he was there for talks about a potential FTA. Although the Egyptian government has no expectations on any movement on an FTA in the near future, they would like to re-engage, perhaps on a formal basis, on key trade and investment issues, including IPR, standards, and foreign direct investment. ¶2. (SBU) Rachid has confirmed appointments with the Federal Trade Commission, and Representative Jim McDermott. On the private sector side, he will see the National Retail Federation and National Association of Manufacturers. In a meeting March 15 with Deputy Minister Samiha Fawzy, she asked for embassy assistance in obtaining the following meetings: -- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, -- Larry Summers, National Economic Council, -- Acting USTR Peter Allgeier -- Acting Secretary of Commerce ¶3. (SBU) Outside the USG, Rachid has asked to meet with Robert Zoellick at the World Bank, and Tom Donahue from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We have also suggested that he consider meeting with OPIC and the National Foreign Trade Council. We hope that these officials and other senior representatives of Washington agencies will be available to meet with him when he is there next week. ¶4. (U) Please contact SCO Amer Kayani or ECON/C Catherine Hill-Herndon for follow up in helping to support this important visitor. Egyptian Embassy Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs Ashraf El Rabiey is responsible for Rachid's schedule in the U.S. Scobey