TFHA01: UAE'S HAITI AID EFFORTS

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000080 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP ALSO FOR STACY D. WILLIAMS AND MELISSA ROSSER ON HAITI TASKFORCE ONE USAID FOR MAURA O'NEILL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL ECON PGOV PREF HA AE SUBJECT: TFHA01: UAE'S HAITI AID EFFORTS REF: STATE 4854; STATE 4909; STATE 4807 ¶1. (SBU) On January 17, the Ambassador met with Shaykh Hamdan bin Zayed, Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Society, the primary UAE aid organization that provides humanitarian assistance abroad to discuss UAE support for Haiti. Shaykh Hamdan (the half-brother of UAE President Shaykh Khalifa) said the UAE leadership was greatly concerned by the situation in Haiti, applauded US effort in Haiti. The Ambassador provided reftel updates on US efforts. Hamdan said that the UAE would welcome coordination of UAE efforts with the USG, and would welcome any suggestions on areas to focus on in its own efforts. ¶2. (SBU) The UAE has established a Higher Committee for Haiti, comprising the four major humanitarian/relief organizations in the UAE: the Shaykh Zayed Foundation, the Shaykh Khalifa Foundation, the Shaykh Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation and the UAE Red Crescent Society. After initial shipment of 50 tons of relief supplies, the UAE has decided to mount a cross border relief operation from the Dominican Republic. (Comment: Although Shaykh Hamdan did not say so, this decision may have been taken in part because of the difficulty of the UAE getting aircraft into Port-au-Prince airport. End Comment.) The plan is for the UAE to provide funding for purchase of commodities in the DR that will then be shipped overland to Haiti. Hamdan has met with the Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic who happened to visit the UAE last week (Note: The UAE has within the past year established relations with the DR. End Note.) ¶3. (SBU) Separately on January 17, Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation for Humanitarian and Charitable Works (MBRHCW) Director Saleh al Mazouei told Treasury Attach???? that MBRHCW wants to provide immediate aid (nfi) to Haiti and asked for assistance to quickly obtain visas to travel to the U.S. Post is following up to facilitate. ¶4. (SBU) On January 19, Martin Barber, Senior Advisor for the UAE's Office of Foreign Aid Coordination (OFAC),said OFAC is tracking all UAE assistance for Haiti. He provided EconOff with the following summary of UAE efforts: - The Khalifa Foundation, which has already dispatched 50 tons of food, medical and other supplies, is sending a humanitarian team on Jan. 19 or 20 to the Dominican Republic to identify potential partners (e.g. WFP, UNICEF) for further assistance. - MBRHCW plans to provide 600-900,000 liters of water and other medical assistance. - A logistics team from Dubai Ports Authority plans to travel to the DR on Jan. 20 to identify port-related assistance needed. - OFAC is providing the UN/WFP logistics cluster and USAID/OFDA with updates on UAE efforts. ¶5. (SBU) On January 19, the Ambassador discussed with Clara Martinez Thedy de Safa, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the UAE, UAE plans to route assistance through the DR and offered USG assistance as needed. ¶6. (SBU) Post has shared reftel instructions on aid coordination efforts with UAEG authorities. OLSON