EMBASSY DOHA'S WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO

UNCLAS DOHA 000604

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PRADEEP
RAMAMURTHY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KDEM KMPI KPAO ECON EAID ESTH EAGR QA
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DOHA'S WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO
CAIRO SPEECH IMPLEMENTATION

REF: A. DOHA 458

B. DOHA 595

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(SBU) KEY POINTS
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-- We welcome your visit to Qatar. This cable complements Ref
A (Embassy Doha's engagement on Cairo speech initiatives),
describes our strategic approach to policy implementation and
identifies two areas in which your support would assist our
interagency efforts linked to the Cairo speech.

-- The Cairo Speech is a central element in "synchronization"
- Embassy Doha,s whole of government approach to USG policy
implementation in Qatar, centered on interagency groups
organized around achieving shared interagency goals.

-- Our "Muslim Community Engagement" synchronization group
builds on the President,s Cairo speech as a strategic
declaration of intent on the use of USG interagency soft
power in reaching out to Muslim communities. The group,s
over-arching goal is the continued operationalization of the
President,s intent by the USG interagency in Qatar.

-- Ref A lays out existing relevant Qatari initiatives;
current USG interagency engagement with those initiatives;
and potential future USG engagement.

End key points.

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EMBASSY DOHA,S WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH
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1. (SBU) The Cairo Speech is a central element in
"synchronization" - Embassy Doha,s whole of government
approach to USG policy implementation in Qatar. Centered on
interagency groups organized around achieving shared
interagency goals, the synchronization process brings
together all elements of the interagency engaged in achieving
a common goal in Qatar. Each group is lead directly by the
Front Office, ensuring regular communication among group
members and providing a sustained interagency perspective to
guide the group,s activities. Our Virtual Country Team
concept uses technology to enable participation in
synchronization groups by non-resident agencies and
departments that cover Qatar on a regional basis.


2. (SBU) Embassy Doha holds six-monthly interagency off-sites
- which also embrace non-resident members of the Virtual
Country Team - to analyze key trends in Qatar and assess the
implications of trend directions for U.S. policy. The
discussions, analysis and priorities thus generated drive the
establishment of goal-oriented synchronization groups -
formed and disbanded as goals are defined and achieved -
aimed at shaping and influencing the operating environment
for the USG interagency in Qatar.

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MUSLIM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SYNCH GROUP
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3. (SBU) Our "Muslim Community Engagement" synchronization
group builds on the President,s Cairo speech as a strategic
declaration of intent on the use of USG interagency soft
power in reaching out to Muslim communities. The group
includes members from across the interagency and its
over-arching goal is the continued operationalization of the
President,s intent by the USG interagency in Qatar.


4. (U) Qatar is already a progressive force in the three
priority areas for engagement identified in the Cairo speech
) human development; entrepreneurship and interfaith
partnership; and science and technology - and could be a
valuable regional partner and force-multiplier in all three
areas. A stable, resource-rich country under progressive
leadership, Qatar has already initiated in these three areas
an impressive range of strategic and tactical initiatives
that are local, regional and international in scope.


5. (SBU) USG engagement in Qatar would most usefully be
focused on creating partnerships to advance our shared
region-wide engagement goals as laid out in the Cairo speech.
Ref A - which we commend to you in its entirety - lays out
existing relevant Qatari initiatives; current USG interagency
engagement with those initiatives; and potential future USG
engagement. Areas covered in Ref A include economic
development, education, women and girls, youth, health,
environment, rule of law, entrepreneurship, science and
technology.

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR VISIT
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6. (SBU) We highlight two potential areas of focus for your
visit. The first - food security - did not figure in the
Cairo speech. However, it is a national security imperative
for Gulf nations and represents a potentially rich area of
strategic engagement with Muslim communities across the
region. The second, a Qatari youth employment networking
initiative, has similar potential for productive USG
engagement in Qatar and the region.

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FOOD SECURITY: AN EXISTENTIAL IMPERATIVE FOR GULF NATIONS
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7. (SBU) Qatar is one of several wealthy Gulf nations with
little or no agricultural production for whom food security
is a vital national security interest. After investing in
land in countries such as Pakistan and Kenya in an attempt to
secure food supplies for a growing population in the decades
to come, Qatar (Ref B) has more recently begun to explore
possibilities for commercial or other partnerships with
developed nations. It has established an agency to pursue its
food security agenda - not just through outright land
ownership in foreign countries, but also through investments
and partnerships.


8. (SBU) The prevailing lack of food security represents an
existential vulnerability for Gulf nations and is an area in
which soft power engagement by the USG would resonate
powerfully across the region. Partnerships between Gulf
countries and American farmers would be advantageous for
American farmers and would also put the USG in a better
position to partner with these countries in pursuing our own
food security strategy with poorer nations in the Arab world
and beyond.

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SILATECH: FOCUSED ON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
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9. (U) In 2008, the Amir's consort Shaykha Mozah founded
"Silatech" ("Your Connection" in Arabic, www.silatech.com) to
promote youth employment in the 22 countries of the Arab
region. Silatech has held two large conferences in Doha and
is now working on pilot programs in six countries (Qatar,
Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, and Bahrain). It focuses on
three areas: improving access to skills training and
placement services; the promotion of policies to stimulate
increased employment and enterprise opportunities; and
changing the "mindset" in the region to improve society's
support for youth employment.


10. (U) Silatech has signed agreements with other
organizations working on youth employment in the Arab world,
such as the Brookings Institution, Dubai School of
Government, Manpower, and Pearson Education. Post recently
connected Silatech with MEPI and the Small Business
Administration to discuss potential areas for partnership. We
continue to see possibilities for productive engagement with
Silatech that would have local and regional impact, in direct
support of the President,s intent in his Cairo speech.
LeBaron