MOROCCO SUPPORTS UNSCR 1874 ON NORTH KOREA

UNCLAS RABAT 000566 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN, T, EAP STATE PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN KNNP PARM PREL MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO SUPPORTS UNSCR 1874 ON NORTH KOREA REF: SECSTATE 66250 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Morocco supports the USG position on UNSCR 1718 and 1874 and has agreed to take financial measures designed to limit the ability of the Democratic People,s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to fund weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile-related activities. Implementation of UNSCR 1874 "should not be a problem," said Abrahim Rahhaly, Chief of North America Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),highlighting Morocco,s laws against money laundering. From a logistical perspective, he said, the MFA will take the lead on disseminating reftel information to appropriate ministries and financial institutions as the new Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is not yet prepared to manage these requests. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Econoff delivered reftel demarche on July 1 to Abrahim Rahhaly, Head of the North American and Caribbean Division, and Mostafa Rezzouk, Director of North American Affairs, at the MFA and Hassan Aloui Abdellaoui, President of the FIU, at the Ministry of Finance (MOF). Econoff provided copies of the Treasury Advisory in English and a non-official translation in French. Rahhaly said he would provide the Treasury Advisory to the relevant entities within the MFA, the MOF, the Central Bank (Bank Al Maghrib) and the FIU, which is still in a nascent stage. ¶3. (SBU) The FIU's Abdellaoui appreciated the information, but emphasized that they are not ready to act as the central authority for this sort of information. The MFA should continue to disseminate accordingly until the FIU is well-established, he stressed. The FIU is pursuing an interagency approach to receiving and implementing financial provisions, he said, recruiting staff from Bank Al Maghrib, MOF, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and law enforcement agencies. ¶4. (SBU) Morocco is committed to promoting international security, MFA's Rezzouk emphasized, noting the Government of Morocco's role as host of the first Conference for the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). This event, he continued, demonstrates Morocco's on-going commitment to oppose the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction materials and technology. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco ***************************************** Jackson