MISSION SPAIN ON "THE PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001144

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

S/P FOR G.BEHRMAN
S/SRMC FOR K.CHANDLER
R FOR S.NOOR-ALI
EUR/PPD FOR L.MCMANIS
BARCELONA FOR G.CROUCH

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: ECON EIAD PREL SOCI XF XI ZR ZP CN PU MV SO SP
SUBJECT: MISSION SPAIN ON "THE PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT

& BEYOND"

REF: STATE 112468

SBU - ENTIRE TEXT


1. SUMMARY: In response to taskings set out in reftel, Post's
Muslim Engagement Working Group canvassed a wide range of
contacts to solicit qualified nominees for the Entrepreneurship
Summit. In addition, the Public Affairs Section (PAS) has
widely publicized the event. The Working Group has met and
coordinated several times since the cable was received and made
progress on several fronts, including identification of several
candidates for the Summit(to be submitted septel),scheduling
and initial planning for roundtables, and identifying areas to
hone in on over the next few months. This cable also includes
responses to Action Items in the reftel.
END SUMMARY

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WORKING GROUP
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2. On November 13 and November 25, the PAO and ECON Counselor
jointly invited Embassy Officers and local staff to a Muslim
Engagement Working Group to focus on the objectives of the
Summit. The meeting was attended by representatives of PAS,
ECON, POL, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (USCS),and
other Mission elements, including Consulate Barcelona (by
conference call). The group will meet as needed to advance the
Summit objectives. (Reftel, tasking para 8)

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SUMMIT NOMINATIONS:
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3. The Muslim communities in Spain maintain a relatively low
profile. Most of Spain's Muslims are manual laborers from
Northern Africa (Morocco) and Sub-Saharan Africa who have come
to Spain to seek jobs. Many of the Muslims residing in
Catalonia and down the eastern coast to Valencia have family
ties in Pakistani and South Asia. Identifying candidates who
fit the particular profile of the Summit has been challenging
given the diverse populations, especially since the majority
reside in areas where the Embassy has limited contact. Mission
outreach has therefore concentrated on immigrant and Muslim
communities through social and cultural organizations. The
Mission has identified a half dozen potential candidates and
will forward nominations via septel. (Reftel tasking para 9)

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PUBLICIZING THE SUMMIT
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4. In order to further publicize the Summit among Muslim
businesspersons and entrepreneurs outside our normal channels,
the Mission has reached out to business chambers of commerce
(including the American Chamber of Commerce and American
Business Council). We contacted our Consular Agents in areas
known to have important Muslim communities; however, no
appropriate nominees could be identified.


5. To cast a wider net, we have translated and posted
information about the Summit from the White
House's "Entrepreneurship.gov" site on our Internet site,
Facebook and Twitter pages, and sent the information
to "WebIslam," the largest Spanish language site dedicated to
Islam. We reached out to Casa Arabe (an autonomous institution
in the Foreign Ministry responsible for promoting greater
understanding of Arabs and Muslims in the world). The Director
offered to post the information to Casa Arabe's website; we
also sent information to Muslim cultural centers in Madrid,
Barcelona, and Cordoba, and distributed information via our
Information Resource Centers in Madrid and Barcelona to several
hundred subscribers to our Muslim information mailing list.

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LOOKING AHEAD: PLANS TO SUPPORT THE SUMMIT
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6. ROUNDTABLES (Reftel tasking para 10): The Working Group
has tentatively identified a date of December 17 for a
roundtable in Madrid hosted by the Chief of Mission; Barcelona
will propose a date for a similar event hosted by the Consul
General in Barcelona. These events will include not only the
Mission's potential nominees for the Summit, but also
influential representatives from Muslim communities, social and
cultural organizations who can provide context for a discussion

MADRID 00001144 002.2 OF 002


of entrepreneurship and the economic issues that affect the
communities they represent.


7. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY & ECONOMIC PROMOTION ACTIVITIES (Reftel
tasking para 11):
(a) As noted in paras 4 and 5, PAS Madrid and Barcelona have
already undertaken efforts to broadly disseminate information
about the Summit to key contacts and organizations in Muslim
communities in Spain via direct contact and through the use of
Internet and new media. The Summit is prominently listed on
the Embassy home page. We plan to keep it on the home page up
through the Summit.
(b) The IRCs in Madrid and Barcelona will continue to
distribute information on the Summit to their existing and
growing distribution lists of recipients. Madrid's nominees
will be added to the lists, if not already on them. The IRCs
will also send pertinent information to Muslim cultural centers
and organizations working with Muslim communities to keep them
engaged.
(c) Officers throughout the Mission will strengthen contact
with Spain's eventual nominees (both Mission-nominated and self-
nominated) to ensure their effective participation. We hope
that the Summit team will inform and provide the Embassy with
contact information of any Spain nominees who self-nominate and
all Spain candidates (both Spanish citizens and non-citizen
residents in Spain) who are selected to participate so that the
Embassy may reach out to them.
(d) When more details about the Summit are available, Embassy
Officers will engage local media, think tanks, and contacts in
Muslim communities on the Summit goals and objectives.
(e) We hope that Washington will produce appropriate articles
and op-eds for Post to place in local media.
(f) ECON and USCS will emphasize the themes of the Summit
through local chambers of commerce, businesses, business
organizations, and Spanish government ministries and
institutions that promote entrepreneurship. Promotion efforts
may also include speaking engagements at Spanish university
business schools. ECON and USCS will inform PA of potential
programs and activities for which entrepreneurs and
stakeholders may be eligible. These programs will be
publicized on the Embassy web site. (reftel tasking para 11)

Chacon