EGYPT: MFA DISCUSSES SOMALIA, PIRACY AND ERITREA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 000557 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/E, PM/PPA, NAIROBI FOR TRIMBLE, AF/RSA FOR SKARDON E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2019 TAGS: PREL EWWT KCRM PTER ER SO EG SUBJECT: EGYPT: MFA DISCUSSES SOMALIA, PIRACY AND ERITREA REF: STATE 27288 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Key Points -- Despite disagreements over prosecution of suspected pirates and the role of the Contact Group on Piracy of the Coast of Somali (CGPCS) in funding the development of Somalia, the Government of Egypt (GOE) was pleased with the Contact Group meetings and the debate on the issues of piracy and Somalia. -- Egypt believes that that the CGPCS should address all aspects of including the "root causes" on the ground in Somalia. -- The GOE supports funding for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG),heading by Shaykh Sharif and the joint Somali forces. It is already working with the TFG to address logistics for the joint forces. However, the GOE believes that funding for the African Union in Somalia (AMISOM) troops should be a lower priority because of the Somali people's opposition to foreign troops. -- Egypt has good ties with Afwerki Government in Eritrea and the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA) provides Eritrea with development assistance. -- Egypt is keen to engage with the USG on both Somalia and Eritrea to find solutions to the problems in the Horn of Africa. ¶2. (C) Comment: Delivering the demarche on donor support for AMISOM and Somalia Security Sector Reform less than two weeks after the U.S. delegation at the piracy conference stressed that Egypt should focus its efforts on piracy at sea elicited smirks among our MFA interlocutors. However, there was also some relief that the USG recognizes the need to address the problems "on the ground" in Somalia. Abu Zeid told to the Canadian Political Counselor that the USG revealed at the piracy conference that it did not understand the "root causes" of piracy in Somalia and the need to tackle the problem on the ground. Egypt will probably still maintain that some funding for TFG and security forces be routed through the Piracy Contact Group so it can have some measure of control over the way the money is distributed. The Egyptian MFA has repeatedly asked to cooperate with the USG on Africa. Egypt believes that working with the USG gives it credibility and allows it to compete financially with countries like Qatar. End Comment. -------------- -------------- Piracy Contact Group Meetings Moderately Successful -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Cabinet Advisor on African Affairs Ahmed Abu Zeid told us on March 26 that the debate that surrounded Working Group 4 and the plenary session was good because it enhances the role of the contact group and shows that the group is active and not formulaic. Abdelhammed Marzouk, Deputy Assistant Minister for East and South Africa told us on March 25 that the CGPCS plenary session on March 17 was well organized and that there was wide agreement on the issues. However, he said that the Working Group 4 meeting of the CGPCS on March 16 was a "mess." He said that the lack of communication between Ambassador Zorqani, the chair of the session and the Foreign Minister's cabinet led some members of the Egyptian delegation being surprised by the push for a donor's conference for Somalia. Marzouk stated that the cabinet officers saw the success of the Gaza Donor's Conference in Sharm Al Sheikh in early March and wanted to recreate the same for Somalia. ¶4. (C) Marzouk said that the GOE was pleased with the outcome of CGPCS Working Groups 1 and 3 and felt that the discussions in Working Groups 2 and 4 had been productive. He stated that Egypt and some of the regional states still disagree with the Western states on the legal approach for the arrest, detention and prosecution of pirates. Marzouk said that the GOE has no issues with Kenya, Tanzania, or Djibouti CAIRO 00000557 002 OF 003 prosecuting pirates. He noted that Egypt has not been approached to prosecute pirates. However, the GOE feels that if the CGPCS approves the legal basis for action against pirates, Egypt could eventually be obligated to take and prosecute the pirates. He told us that there is a gap in Egypt's domestic law which limits it from prosecuting pirates. Both Marzouk and Abu Zeid understand that there is still disagreement on whether the CGPCS should address the root causes of piracy on land or simply focus its efforts on the sea. Marzouk said that Egypt, the Arab League, Djibouti, Somalia and the United Nations feel the CGPCS is the correct vehicle for tackling the issues on land, while the U.S. and U.K. do not. He said Egypt is keen to use the International Trust Fund to fund activities on land and support the new Somali Government. Abu Zeid told us that the key issue for the GOE is whether the CGPCS is "committed" to tackling all the aspects of piracy including the military, judicial, media and root causes on land. He said U.S. objections, at the CGPCS plenary session, to funding development on the ground led some states to question the whether the U.S. is serious about Somalia. -------------- Additional Donor Support for Somalia -------------- ¶5. (C) We delivered reftel demarche to Ahmed Abu Zeid encouraging additional donor support for AMISOM and Somalia Security Sector Reform. Abu Zeid agreed that the election of Shaykh Sharif, the expansion of the Somali parliament and the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces presented an opportunity for improvement in Somalia. He said that in the short-term AMISOM needs support until Somali Security Forces can control security, but Abu Zeid told us that the GOE considers the enhancement of the Somali joint security forces as the top priority. He expressed some concern for continued support of AMISOM when the Somali people are against the presence of foreign troops on their soil. Marzouk told us that AMISOM is perceived to be biased toward Ethiopia and have a "western agenda." He stated that if Somalis decide against AMISOM, we should respect their wishes. -------------- Egypt Working to Assist TFG and Joint Forces -------------- ¶6. (C) Both Marzouk and Abu Zeid said that Egypt is taking steps, in conjunction with the Arab League (AL),to support the Somali Government and leadership. Abu Zeid said that FM Aboul Gheit sent letters out to AL summit participants encouraging support for the TFG and the Somali joint forces. Abu Zeid told us that the Government of Yemen has agreed to provide equipment for the Somali forces. He said the imminent need is to provide salaries and logistics. Abu Zeid stated that the Egyptian Ministry of Defense is having discussions with TFG on providing for the logistics and medical needs of its forces. He asked if the USG was going to "help out" with salaries, and opined that this would be welcomed by the Somalis. Abu Zeid said that the best vehicle for funding the TFG and joint forces is to give the money to UN Special Representative Ould Abdallah to hold in accounts set up in Djibouti. He said the USG should make any donation public so as to create TFG accountability for the money. Abu Zeid told us that "the time for success or failure in Somalia is close at hand." He opined that if the country were to regress it would be "terrible." He said support for the TFG is paramount and Egypt is considering the idea of a donor's conference for Somalia. Abu Zeid stated that after the TFG was stabilized it could begin reconciliation efforts. He also told us that Egypt would be keen to enter into a trilateral dialogue with the TFG and the USG to help address the problems in Somalia. He said that Libya, Qatar, and Sudan were also talking about ways to support the Somali Government. ¶7. (C) Marzouk stated that Shaykh Dahir Aweys expressed his interest in joining the TFG and he advocated reaching out to him. He said that Aweys should be removed from the "terrorist list." Marzouk opined that if Aweys is left in Asmara he will be used as a "tool" of the Eritrean Government to take revenge on Ethiopia. CAIRO 00000557 003 OF 003 -------------- -------------- Egyptian-Eritrean Relations and Asmara,s Regional Role -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Abu Zeid stated that Egypt had "good ties" with Eritrea and was keen to maintain these ties. He said current Eritrean foreign policy was complicating Egypt's relations with "other countries" (NFI). Abu Zeid told us that Egypt was working to moderate the positions of Eritrean President Afwerki and help to address Eritrea's economic and development needs. He told us that the EFTCA is currently providing physicians, conducting capacity-building training in Eritrea, and providing scholarships to Eritrean students to study in Egypt. Both Abu Zeid and Marzouk noted that a delegation from Eritrea would come to Cairo on March 26 to finalize an agreement between Eritrean Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority for a direct flight from Asmara to Cairo. ¶9. (C) Abu Zeid said that Egypt is ready to work with the U.S. to resolve the Eritrean-Ethiopian border dispute because it colors all events in the region and if unsolved Eritrea will remain "radical" and continue to play the "spoiler role" in Somalia. He said that "serious" U.S. engagement is important because U.S.-Ethiopian relations are good. He envisioned the GOE and USG working together to address and implement the border commission's recommendations for Eritrea and Ethiopia. He opined that Eritrea is also looking to increase its cooperation with the rest of the world, including the USG, if it receives guarantees of its sovereignty. SCOBEY