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.

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Piracy Contact Group Meetings Moderately Successful
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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.

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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.

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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


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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