UAE PREPARING FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000158 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND ISN (JENKINS) NSC FOR CONNERY AND HOLGATE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM EAID TBIO IAEA AORC CDG ENRG MNUC PGOV PREL AE SUBJECT: UAE PREPARING FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT REF: STATE 7493; STATE 5891 ¶1. (SBU) On January 31, EconOff and Dutch Charg???? Huib de Bliek delivered Ref A demarche encouraging the UAE to attend February's Nuclear Security Summit third Sherpa meeting in The Hague to Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, MFA Special Coordinator for International Nuclear Cooperation and UAE IAEA PermRep. Al Kaabi said the UAE planned to attend the meeting in The Hague, although he did not yet know who would represent the UAE. He noted that the UAE has not yet identified a Sherpa for the Summit and said he would follow up with the Foreign Minister for an answer. Al Kaabi said he may be the Sherpa, or, since the Summit is in Washington, the Ministry may select UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba. He promised to update both embassies shortly. ¶2. (SBU) Al Kaabi also asked for copies of the latest agenda and communiqu????. He said, while he had seen previous versions, he was not sure if he had the latest. EconOff offered to convey the most recent documents in advance of the Sherpa meeting. ¶3. (SBU) Al Kaabi said that he did not expect UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed would attend the April Summit. He said while an official decision has not yet been made, he expected Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa may lead the UAE delegation. (Note: An MIT official recently told the Ambassador that Sheikh Mohammed plans to be in the U.S. in early April for meetings at MIT, which has a partnership with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. End Note.) ¶4. (SBU) Separately, EconOff conveyed Ref B points on the differences between the Summit and the NPT RevCon. Al Kaabi said this is a very important clarification, as some invited to the Summit had already expressed concerns about attending if it was directly tied to the RevCon. Al Kaabi said that the RevCon will address a number of issues unrelated to the Summit, and the UAE clearly understands the distinction. OLSON