DRC/ROC/NIGER: PRESIDENCY PREVIEWS SARKOZY'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000399 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER ECON EAID CG CF NG FR SUBJECT: DRC/ROC/NIGER: PRESIDENCY PREVIEWS SARKOZY'S MARCH 26-27 AFRICA TRAVEL REF: PARIS 223 Classified By: Acting Deputy Political Counselor Greg D'Elia, 1.4 (b/d) . ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The centerpiece of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's March 26-27 visit to the DRC, the ROC, and Niger will be a speech in Kinshasa urging the DRC to take charge of its destiny and fulfill its potential as a key African player, according Presidential AF advisor Romain Serman's March 17 background briefing. Ministers Lagarde and Hortefeux, State Secretary Joyandet (Cooperation and Francophonie) and AREVA CEO Lauvergeon will accompany Sarkozy, but FM Kouchner, said to be in ROC President Sassou Nguesso's black books, will not. Sarkozy will also propose increased cooperation among Great Lakes countries and, to focus energies, a possible conference on that region in Paris at the beginning of 2010. Sarkozy will further propose that central African states consider consolidating the several sub-regional bodies (e.g., ECCAS, CEMAC, et al.) for efficiency's sake. In the ROC, Sarkozy will meet with Sassou-Nguesso and give a speech on democratic themes. In Niger, the main event will be a round table on extractive industries, where the French will outline AREVA's activities in an effort to promote transparency and to explain how AREVA's presence broadly benefits Niger and the region. Separately, Serman commented that, despite the break in diplomatic relations, France and Rwanda were "working in parallel" and trying not to let legal issues dominate the situation. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Presidential AF advisor Romain Serman provided an overview of President Sarkozy's visits to the DRC, the ROC, and Niger. In typical Sarkozy style, the visits will take place quickly -- he will arrive in Kinshasa on March 26, meet with DRC President Kabila, and deliver a speech before the entire parliament with members of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries attending. French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy may make a separate visit to the Kivu region in connection with her recent appointment by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria as Ambassador for the Protection of Mothers and Children against HIV/AIDS, if helicopter and other logistics can be securely arranged. Sarkozy and company will then go to Brazzaville, where they will spend the night, travel to Niamey on March 27, and leave for Paris the same day. His actual time on the ground will be roughly 36 hours, with the whole trip, including flight times, requiring about 48 hours. Sarkozy's entourage would include Christine Lagarde (Minister for Economy, Industry, and Employment),Brice Hortefeux (Minister for Labor, Social Relations, Family Issues, Solidarity, and Urban Issues), Alain Joyandet (State Secretary for Cooperation and Francophonie),and AREVA CEO Anne Lauvergeon, all of whom would be present for the entire trip. Serman noted FM Kouchner's absence by remarking (without elaborating) that Kouchner currently was in Sassou-Nguesso's black books, which ruled him out. Democratic Republic of Congo -------------- ¶3. (C) The trip to the DRC would be historic -- the first French presidential visit since Mitterrand in 1984. Both sides were treating it with importance. Serman said that Sarkozy's speech in parliament would be the centerpiece of the visit. According to Serman, who is drafting the text, Sarkozy will not deliver the "typical" speech rife with platitudes and mutual flattery. Instead, Serman claimed it would be "psychological" in nature, designed to encourage and incite the DRC to take charge of its destiny and get moving. Serman commented that the relative lack of movement on the DRC's part on a range of issues, given its size and potential, was a serious frustration. When asked whether such a speech might trigger Congolese resentment towards being "lectured to" by the French, Serman said with conviction that Sarkozy would avoid that by saying that France, Europe, and the rest of Africa all looked forward and needed greater Congolese activism to make things better in the DRC but also in the rest of the world. Stating that France needed a strong and active DRC was different from saying "we think you should do X, Y, and Z," Serman insisted. ¶4. (C) Sarkozy was eager to visit the DRC and meet Kabila. Serman claimed Sarkozy was fascinated by Kabila, by his youthful accession to power, his family history, and the potential he had as a leader. Serman indicated that Sarkozy hoped that Kabila would view Sarkozy as someone from whom he could learn and seek advice. According to Serman, Sarkozy would be comfortable playing the elder statesman capable of offering counsel to the young leader. PARIS 00000399 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) On the regional front, Serman said that Sarkozy would discuss "western" issues as well as "eastern" issues. The main "western" issue would be suggesting that the DRC and its neighbors do something to streamline and perhaps consolidate or even eliminate the region's several groupings, where, Sermain argued, there were multiple redundancies. These included ECCAS, CEMAC, and their offshoots. Serman said that the region did not need all of these overlapping groupings and that, in the name of efficiency, they should be reduced. ¶6. (C) "Eastern" issues, according to Serman, concerned the Great Lakes cluster of problems. Serman downplayed earlier indications (including a draft that he had provided) that France had a "plan" for the region (reftel) and said that Sarkozy would suggest closer regional cooperation among the Great Lakes countries. In order to encourage progress ("nothing works like a deadline"),Sarkozy would likely propose an international conference on the Great Lakes, possibly taking place in Paris at the beginning of 2010, that would assess progress in the region. ¶7. (C) Business deals invovling the DRC would also be announced during the visit, Serman said. He mentioned a France Telecom project involving cell phone operations worth 400 million euro (USD 525 million),three Larfarge cement projects together worth 800 million euro (USD 1.05 billion), and several smaller ones. Republic of Congo -------------- ¶8. (C) Later on March 26, the entourage would travel to Brazzaville. Serman said the visit to the ROC would be more "typical" and that Sarkozy would go there in part because he could not go to the DRC without also going to the ROC. Serman said that Sarkozy would deliver a speech in Brazzaville covering more generic democracy and good governance themes. Niger -------------- ¶9. (C) On March 27, Sarkozy would proceed to Niamey. The main event there would be a round table on extractive industries, where Lauvergeon would take center stage. AREVA planned on disseminating a range of information on its activities in Niger and in the region, in an effort to promote transparency, end speculation on what the company's "real" motives were, and demonstrate the benefits of its presence to all the peoples of Niger, Tuareg included. Serman said that Sarkozy would take part in a few public events, with the French raising al-Qaida in Maghreb (AQIM) and other terrorism-related subjects in their closed-door sessions with the Nigerians. (Sermain's fellow AF Presidential advisor Reny Marechaux separately described engagement on AQIM as the real nub of the visit.) The party would then head for Paris after barely 36 hours on the ground in three countries. Rwanda -------------- ¶10. (C) During a short sidebar on Rwanda, Serman said the two sides were "working in parallel" even though, officially, relations remained frayed after the diplomatic break caused when France issued warrants against several Rwandans for alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide and Rwanda's riposte accusing the French of complicity in that same tragedy. Serman indicated that a reasonably reliable channel of communications had been put in place and that both sides were avoiding public discussion of their respective genocide accusations. He noted that the Rwandans appreciated the relative freedom accorded Rose Kabuye (the one accused individual who had been arrested and transferred to France pursuant to the warrants),who has been able to travel to and from Rwanda after her arrest, although he noted that could change once legal proceedings against her actually begin. PEKALA