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.

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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