INVITATION: POTUS LUNCH WITH SUB-SAHARAN

UNCLAS STATE 092202 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNGA AF SUBJECT: INVITATION: POTUS LUNCH WITH SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 3. ¶2. (U) President Obama will host a lunch for sub- Saharan African heads of state or government on the margins of the 2009 UN General Assembly (UNGA). The lunch is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., venue TBD. The theme is ?Building a 21st Century Partnership for African Economic and Social Development.? Instructions for invitations are in paragraph 3. Additional action for Addis Ababa, Praia, Maseru, Mbabane, USAU, and Nairobi are in paragraphs 4- ¶7. The text of the invitation is in paragraph 8. Additional information to share with host countries is in paragraph 9. ¶3. (U) Action request: Ambassadors at addressee posts are instructed to deliver the invitation from President Obama to their host government?s head of state or government, and report back with the information below. No signed original invitation will follow this telegraphic invitation. In cases where post is aware that it is unlikely that the invitee will attend, Department requests that the invitation be extended as a courtesy gesture of inclusion. - Posts are requested to provide host country RSVPs by front channel cable by Friday, September 11. - No substitutes will be allowed; this event is for heads of state or heads of government only. - Please confirm principal?s title, spelling of name, and pronunciation; - Please advise on principal?s dietary restrictions, if any; - Please advise on principal?s translation needs; - Please provide a point of contact at host country?s mission in New York for contact to the event; - Please transmit RSVPs promptly so that Washington staff can begin planning; and - In addition to a front channel cable, please submit RSVPs via unclassified email to AF staff Susie Pratt (PrattES2@state.gov),Nole Garey (GareyNH@state.gov), and Ryan Bowles (BowlesRE@state.gov). ¶4. (U) Additional action for Addis Ababa, Praia, and Maseru: Because the heads of state in these posts do not have executive power, posts are instructed to invite the Prime Minister instead. ¶5. (U) Additional action for Mbabane: Post is instructed to invite King Mswati III to the lunch. ¶6. (U) Additional action for USAU: Post is instructed to invite Chairman Jean Ping of the Commission of the African Union. ¶7. (U) Additional action for Nairobi: Post is instructed to also invite Sheikh Sharif of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. ¶8. (U) Text of invitation. Dear Mr./Madam President/Prime Minister, I would like to invite you to a working luncheon meeting with your colleagues from across Sub-Saharan Africa in New York on September 22, 2009, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. I am encouraged by Africa?s progress in recent years to close the development gap and increase opportunity. More work, however, remains to be done. I hope you will join this lunch meeting for a dialogue on how we can build a 21st century partnership that will lead to increased economic and social development for the people of Africa. This expanding partnership needs to work in both directions, and I am interested in hearing your ideas about how our mutual efforts can be more effective. I would also like to hear about your work to create the kind of long-lasting development effects that we all desire. My team will be in touch with your U.N. delegation with details on the venue and agenda in the weeks ahead. I hope you will be able to attend, and I look forward to our discussions in New York. Sincerely, Barack Obama ¶9. (U) Posts may draw from the information below as necessary: -- This event will focus on how the United States can strengthen partnership with African countries to improve economic and social conditions on the continent. The President wants to hear about leaders? efforts to create opportunity and introduce lasting positive change into their countries. President Obama would like to discuss three areas in particular: job creation, especially for young people and entrepreneurs; how to create a favorable climate for trade and investment; and, how we can mobilize African agriculture to create jobs and feed the continent. -- Not all sub-Saharan African heads of state have been invited. We have declined to invite the heads of state of Zimbabwe, Sudan, Madagascar, Eritrea, Niger, and Guinea. Other sub-Saharan African heads of state will receive invitations, as will the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, and TFG President Sheikh Sharif. -- President Obama will make brief opening remarks, and ask a head of state (to be determined) to begin the discussion on each of the three topics. Following the intervention of the designated African head of state/government, President Obama will moderate a discussion on that topic. Invitees should not prepare formal interventions; we intend for discussion to be spontaneous and succinct. -- Unfortunately, substitutes will not be accepted for this unique high-level event. -- We will provide exact information on the venue, which will be in midtown Manhattan, at a later date. CLINTON