EGYPTIAN MFA ON VISIT OF SHAYKH SHARIF, PIRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000772

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2019
TAGS: PREL KCRM MARR MOPS EWWT SO EG
SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN MFA ON VISIT OF SHAYKH SHARIF, PIRACY

REF: CAIRO 737

Classified By: Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Catherine
Hill-Herndon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Key Points:

-- The Egyptian MFA said that Somali President Shaykh Sharif
Shaykh Ahmed asked for Egyptian support for his government
and the Somali joint forces. Egypt agreed to supply uniforms
for the forces and is ready to provide training for troops
and trainers.

-- The Government of Egypt (GOE) is not currently involved in
Somali reconciliation, but if all the parties request it,
Egypt is willing to participate.

-- According to the MFA, Shaykh Sharif is not happy about the
intervention or intrusion of international forces into Somali
territory and he asked Egypt to help the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) obtain capacity building support from the
international community.

-- Egypt wants to set a date for Working Group (WG) 4 of
Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to
meet in late May. The MFA alerted us that China will
propose, at the WG 1 meeting, dividing the Gulf of Aden and
Indian Ocean into "areas of responsibility" for each navy to
create a more effective system that will allow for better
command and control coordination.


2. (C) Comment: We were surprised by the Egyptian assertion
that the TFG had not asked for Egyptian help in facilitating
reconciliation talks. According to the Somali DCM in Cairo,
the TFG asked for Egypt's assistance to broker rapprochement
between Shaykh Sharif and Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys (reftel).
After taking the lead in strongly supporting the election of
Shaykh Sharif, Egypt is reverting to its traditional, risk
averse position of not taking the lead on reconciliation
efforts. Egypt will probably quietly push countries to
support Shaykh Sharif, the TFG, and the Somali joint forces,
but will probably hedge its bets by not taking a public
stance. The GOE is still convinced that the role of WG 4 of
the CGPCS will be to fund socio-economic projects in Somalia
and it is anxiously anticipating the U.N briefing. Egypt
will try to get an idea of the content of the briefing before
the plenary session on May 29. End Comment.

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Shaykh Sharif's Visit to Cairo
--------------


3. (C) Egypt MFA cabinet officer for African Affairs, Ahmed
Abu Zeid, told us on May 4 that Somali President Shaykh
Sharif's visit to Cairo was "important" because he met with
President Mubarak and received the "official support" of
Egypt. He said that Mubarak gave Shaykh Sharif "advice on
the future course of Somalia." Shaykh Sharif asked for
Egyptian support for his government and the Somali joint
forces. Abu Zeid stated that Egypt believes it is important
to build the capacity of both the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) and the Somali joint forces. He told us
that the GOE is ready to support the training of Somali
troops and trainers to "build a credible, strong, and
efficient Somali force." Abu Zeid said that the Egyptian
Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA) agreed to
provide the Somali joint forces with uniforms.


4. (C) Abu Zeid told us that Egypt is not involved in Somali
reconciliation because it did not want to be involved in a
"game" where its role would not be "helpful or welcomed." He
stated that Shaykh Sharif has his own reconciliation process,
and Egypt believes that the process should be driven
internally by the Government of Somalia. Abu Zeid said that
Egypt feels the TFG needs to set up "direct talks" with the
opposition. However, he told us that Egypt is ready to be
involved in the reconciliation process, if asked by the
various groups. Abu Zeid told us multiple times during the
meeting that the GOE has good relation with all the parties
in Somalia and is in "daily contact" with them. He stated
that Qatar had offered to mediate between the Somali groups
and he opined that this was the "wrong course" because the
Somalis needed to be "given space." Abu Zeid said that
Shaykh Sharif requested that Egypt help the TFG obtain
support from the international community to increase the
TFG's ability to tackle piracy. He said that Shaykh Sharif
is not happy about the intervention or intrusion of
international forces into Somali territory.

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Preparing for the CGPCS Meetings

CAIRO 00000772 002 OF 002


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5. (C) Abu Zeid told us that the GOE was looking to set a
date for Working Group (WG) 4 of the CGPCS sometime in late
May, and it would make a decision in the "next few days." He
said that the WG would only focus on a communications
strategy because Egypt is waiting for the U.N. presentation
at the plenary session on May 29 to address the
socio-economic needs in Somalia before proceeding with other
parts of the WG's mandate. The Chinese Embassy informed Abu
Zeid that the Chinese delegation to WG 1 in London will
propose to divide the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean into
"areas of responsibility" for each navy. According to Abu
Zeid, China believes that this will create a system that is
more effective and will allow for better command and control
coordination.


6. (C) Abu Zeid told us that Egypt is willing to have
discussions about arming ships that transit through the
"pirate waters." However, he said that the GOE has
reservations about the idea because it increases the
potential for the exchange of fire between vessels and
pirates, putting sailors in danger. He said that any
decision on arming ships would ultimately be taken by the
Egyptian Ministry of Defense and the Egyptian intelligence
services.
SCOBEY