U.S.-EGYPTIAN STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: NEXT STEPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 110916

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2019
TAGS: PREL EAID PHUM EG KDEM ECON PARM XA
SUBJECT: U.S.-EGYPTIAN STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: NEXT STEPS

REF: CAIRO 1520


1. (U) Classified by: NEA Acting A/S Ronald Schlicher. E.O.
12958, Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


2. (C) SUMMARY. The structure of the Strategic Dialogue
provides a framework within which to highlight and address
major areas of bilateral, regional, and multilateral
coordination with the Government of Egypt (GOE). Following
up on U/S Burns's meetings in June in Cairo, the Department
would like to propose a series of bilateral discussions with
the GOE under the umbrella of the Strategic Dialogue focusing
on the following issues: nonproliferation; the UN Human
Rights Council; Africa; human rights and governance; economic
issues; and assistance. These meetings will set the stage
for the next plenary session of the strategic dialogue (led
by U/S Burns and MFA Deputy Foreign Minister Wafaa Bassim),
which we propose take place in Washington December 16. END
SUMMARY.

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NEXT STEPS
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3. (C) Department requests that post convey to the GOE the
United States' desire to maintain momentum in our Strategic
Dialogue (SD) with Egypt and propose the following based on
the thematic structure agreed to between our governments in
June 2009.


4. (SBU) U/S Burns is prepared to host the next SD
senior-level meeting in Washington on December 16.

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AFRICA
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5. (C) The most recent meeting on regional issues within the
context of the Strategic Dialogue was on African issues on
October 26, when A/S Johnnie Carson traveled to Cairo.
Agenda items included Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Zimbabwe, piracy off the coast of Somalia, and Nile
Basin/water issues.

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NON-PROLIFERATION
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6. (C) The Department recommends that we convene as soon as
possible a high-level meeting on nuclear non-proliferation
issues. The outcome from the September International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference (GC) was mixed, but
in follow-on meetings both in Washington and in Cairo, FM
Aboul Gheit, Ambassador Shoukry, and Deputy Assistant
Minister for Disarmament Khalid Shamma emphasized the need
for continued engagement on these issues. Continuous
engagement with Egypt on nuclear issues in the lead-up to the
May 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
(NPT RevCon) will be critical in preventing a few contentious
Middle East issues from undermining the entire NPT RevCon.
U/S Tauscher and Special Representative for
Nuclear-Nonproliferation Burk will participate in this
engagement. Bilateral exchanges could lay the foundation for
trilateral exchanges with Egypt and Israel in the spirit of
the negotiations regarding the Middle East Safeguards
Resolution held during the 2009 IAEA GC. These exchanges can
take the form of phone communications with Cairo and meetings
in both Washington and Cairo. U/S Tauscher plans to be in
Cairo at the beginning of December.

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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
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7. (C) Building on the successful cooperation between Egypt
and the United States on the Freedom of Expression
resolution, the Department also proposes working with Egypt
to address the underlying concerns driving the "Defamation of
Religions" resolution. Important issues to address include
the issues of religious intolerance and discrimination, and
negative religious stereotyping. IO/HR's Director Atul
Keshap led the discussions on Freedom of Expression and would
be best placed to continue working with his counterparts on
the "Defamation of Religions" issue, with IO Front Office and
DRL Front Office participation as appropriate. Proposed date
and location: December 2009, Cairo.

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HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE
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8. (C) The Department proposes holding a
government-to-government discussion on human rights and
governance chaired by DRL Assistant Secretary Michael Posner
in Cairo in the near future. This discussion would consist
of a detailed bilateral exchange focusing on democracy,
governance, human rights, and civil society, and would follow
up on discussions held with GOE officials on these issues
since the Obama Administration came into office. Reftel
enumerates the areas where we believe we can engage with the
GOE to encourage action. (Note: This meeting could precede
the convening of a meeting between Egyptian and American
civil society organizations under the umbrella of the
Strategic Dialogue. End Note.) Ambassador-at-Large Luis
CdeBaca, from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons, will visit Egypt from November 12 to 15 to discuss
Egypt's efforts to address human trafficking.

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ECONOMICS AND TRADE
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9. (C) In recognition of the GOE's increased interest in
engaging the USG on a wide range of bilateral trade,
commercial, and economic issues, EEB is considering an
A/S-level economic dialogue with the MFA as a strategic
dialogue component. MFA Assistant Minister for Economic
Affairs visited Washington recently and met with EEB Acting
DAS Bill Craft. EEB's A/S, once confirmed, will consider
following up on this visit by traveling to Cairo in the first
half of 2010. In addition, the WEF annual meeting in Davos
(January 27-31, 2010) and the WEF on the Middle East and
North Africa in Marrakesh, Morocco, (October 21-22, 2010)
offer opportunities for discussions on the margins of those
meetings.

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ASSISTANCE
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10. (C) The Department recommends that as part of ongoing
discussions over ESF, Minister of Cooperation Aboul Naga
consider travel to Washington for high-level discussions with
Deputy Secretary Lew. The exact timing of such a visit would
depend on the timing of USG decisions regarding the future of
the ESF program.
CLINTON