END-USE DEMARCHE DELIVERED

S E C R E T CAIRO 000458 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2019 TAGS: PREL MASS PARM EG SUBJECT: END-USE DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 23015 ¶B. CAIRO IIR 6 899 0093 09 ¶C. CAIRO IIR 6 899 0085 09 Classified By: MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS WI LLIAM R. STEWART PER 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (S/NF) On March 15, OMC Chief delivered ref A points on one violation and one potential violation of Egypt's end-use obligations to Major General Al-Assar, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Defense. He informed al-Assar that the State Department would notify Congress of the December 2008 gun-tube violation, in which a contracted engineer reverse engineered the 155 mm gun tube of a M109 self-propelled howitzer (ref B). Major General al-Helmi, Senior MOD Advisor, acknowledged the violation and stressed that the engineer was acting independently and not under orders. ¶2. (S/NF) OMC Chief also requested more information on a potential end-use violation involving the December 2008 visit of a senior Chinese delegation to Fayid Air Force Base, where Chinese officials may have viewed a static display of an F-16 aircraft, its armaments, and technical workshops (ref C). ¶3. (S/NF) OMC Chief stressed USG concerns over Egypt's end-use violations and offered to provide additional training to MOD officials on end-use obligations in order to prevent further violations. He also suggested that end-use issues be added to the agenda for the yearly Military Cooperation Committee (MCC) meetings to promote regular dialogue on the importance of end-use obligations. Al-Assar took the suggestion but did not provide a response. SCOBEY