FRANCE: JANUARY 13-14 CONTACT GROUP MEETING ON

UNCLAS PARIS 000024 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PM/PPA (GLANCY, HOPKINS, FOSTER) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EWWT KCRM MOPS PBTS PHSA PTER SO XW FR SUBJECT: FRANCE: JANUARY 13-14 CONTACT GROUP MEETING ON SOMALI PIRACY REF: A. STATE 1223 ¶B. STATE 1225 (SBU) We conveyed on January 7 the materials in reftels concerning the January 13-14 meeting in New York on Somalia piracy issues, to Chantal Poiret, MFA official responsible for those issues, and to other MFA IO and AF officers. On January 8, Jean-Hugues Simon-Michel, MFA PDAS for Strategic Affairs, Security, and Disarmament, responded, saying that the GOF had no major differences with the USG approach. He noted that Poiret had been in contact with PM A/S Kimmitt directly and had provided feedback on our ideas for the meeting. Simon-Michel said that France's main concern was that working with new and disparate partners such as China, India, (to a lesser extent) Russia, and others, with which Western countries had relatively little experience working in naval coalitions of the type contemplated, could present challenges that might be difficult to resolve quickly. That said, Simon-Michel expressed appreciation for the work the USG had done in laying a firm foundation for the meeting. Simon-Michel said that he would accompany Poiret to the meeting and he expected that two officials (one a military officer) from France's UN delegation would also attend the meeting. He hoped that the meeting could accommodate a French delegation of four participants. STAPLETON