EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SEC-GEN ON USG-EAC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DAR ES SALAAM 000105


DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JTREADWELL; AF/C AKEITH AND AF/EPS
STATE PASS TO USAID/EA
STATE PASS TO USITC
TREASURY FOR REBECCA KLEIN
LABOR FOR INTERNATIONAL LABOR AFFAIRS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR PREL ECON EAID XW ZF TZ
SUBJECT: EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SEC-GEN ON USG-EAC
COOPERATION

REFS: (A) Dar es Salaam 89 (B) Dar es Salaam 88 (C) Kigali 62
(D) Dar es Salaam 17

DAR ES SAL 00000105 001.2 OF 004



1. SUMMARY: On January 20, I visited East African Community
(EAC) Secretary-General Juma V. Mwapachu (Tanzania) to
discuss the three-D's: "Defense, Diplomacy and Development."
The U.S. and the EAC share common goals. We have undertaken
several projects together in the areas of defense, aviation
security and trade development. The growing complexity of
our engagement and the regional nature of the EAC imply the
need for greater attention to this increasingly important
institution. Our engagement should be carried out in a
manner closely coordinated with the Bureau and U.S. Missions
in the five EAC countries. I suggest we discuss this issue at
the upcoming East Africa Chief of Mission conference. END
SUMMARY.


2. On January 20, I visited East African Community (ref A)
Secretary-General Juma V. Mwapachu (Tanzania). Ambassador
Mwapachu brought to the meeting his Chef de Cabinet, the EAC
Directors for Trade and for Infrastructure as well as the
Defense Liaison Officer. I told the Sec-Gen that I have a
mandate to maintain the excellent relationship we have with
Tanzania and to enhance it wherever possible. It was in that
spirit that I came to Arusha to acquaint myself with the EAC.
Mwapachu said that the EAC's relationship with the U.S. was
good and getting better, but that "all opportunities had not
yet been exploited."

DEFENSE
--------------


3. On the Defense front, Mwapachu said that the U.S. assisted
in a joint training exercise last year in Uganda involving
troops from throughout the EAC (The AFRICOM-sponsored
exercise "Natural Fires"). This was something that partners
would like to do on a regular basis-- if not annually then at
least every two years, given the costs and logistics for such
an exercise, he said. At present, EAC states were working on
a Memorandum of Understanding regarding joint military
cooperation. Mwapachu welcomed the advice and assistance the
EAC was getting from the U.S. Defense Attache system in the
region and welcomed inputs from AFRICOM directly.


4. Mwapachu said that while the five East Africa Community
states are at peace at this time, the history of the Great
Lakes region (including EAC members Burundi and Rwanda) has
largely been one of instability. The Eastern Congo still
remained a big concern for all. Mwapachu also lamented that
fugitives from the Rwanda genocide were still at large. Until
they could be brought to justice, that file would remain
open. To the north of EAC-space, South Sudan's independence
referendum, scheduled for June 2011, could bring "unknown
changes." Also to the north, Somalia's Al-Shabab insurgents
had been "poking" into Kenya on occasion. "High seas piracy
is bad. Cross-border incursions are even worse." I stated
that these unfortunate developments are of great concern to
the USG as well.


5. Mwapachu appealed to me for help to reinforce the military
relationship between the EAC and AFRICOM. Mwapachu
characterized AFRICOM as "a force for stability in the
region." I spoke to Mwapachu about my meeting with AFRICOM
Commander General William Ward last November at which we
discussed that very topic. Mwapachu admitted that the "ball
was in the EAC court" for now until member states could agree
on a common, broad-based defense policy. Once an MOU was
signed, then the EAC could work to establish a mil-mil

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relationship with AFRICOM more directly. That
notwithstanding, Mwapachu said the ad hoc joint missions that
were put together through the U.S. bilaterally involving all
or most of the partners remained highly useful.


6. Looking toward the future, Mwapachu would like to see more
cooperation in terms of counterinsurgency, peace-building and
peace keeping, with operations on both land and sea.
Mwapachu would like the EAC to have five stand-by brigades,
one per member, dedicated to common EAC defense as well as
for use in natural disasters and humanitarian assistance.
Such a force should be fully integrated into African Union
defense plans and should have a joint cooperation agreement
with the European Union as well.

AVIATION SECURITY
--------------


7. On the subject of civil aviation, regulation of safety and
security oversight of regional airways remained another key
concern for the EAC. The EAC was working with TSA, DOT and
FAA in the U.S. to try to set up a "Safe Skies for Africa"
program. Mwapachu described support from the U.S. as
"elaborate," including equipment and training. The goal was
to bring the region into a "Category 1" safety regime to
permit regular, direct flights to the U.S. Currently no
airline-- U.S., local or third-country-- offered direct
flights from East Africa to the U.S. Delta was supposed to
start direct flights to Nairobi, but terrorist threats from
Al-Shabab put the project on hold, according to his
information. Air links to America were key for the region,
he added.


8. The EAC also was trying to de-regulate the commercial
aspects of regional flights. Ambassador Mwapachu said that
the EAC had an open skies agreement with SADC. The EAC
already had an agreement with the U.S. on upper atmosphere
flights, but was still working on getting an agreement for
lower air space flights.

INFRASTRUCTURE
--------------


9. The EAC wanted to re-establish a railway link from Rwanda
to Tanzania (ref C). Through a U.S. Trade and Development
Agency (USTDA) grant, U.S. firm BNSF (Burlington, Northern,
Santa Fe) recently conducted a study for a standard gauge
railway from Kigali to Dar es Salaam (the current, unusable
track was narrow gauge and not to international scale). The
African Development Bank was also looking at funding a
railway spur from Kigali to Bujumbura, Ambassador Mwapachu
said. I expressed concern about recent flooding in the
central area around the railway track; at least one bridge
had collapsed and tracks washed away at several points. I
reminded Mwapachu that the U.S. had just sent USD 50,000
emergency relief to flood victims there (ref D). In terms of
the plan for the railway itself, I reassured Mwapachu that I
had spoken to the U.S. executive heading the company involved
and that we at the U.S. Mission to Tanzania were following
the project closely.


10. Ambassador Mwapachu said the EAC was also looking to
engage on maritime issues. Mwapachu said he was looking at
areas that could be privatized to gain U.S. participation in
that sector.

TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
--------------

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11. In 2008, the EAC signed a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement (TIFA) with USTDA, on the margins of a Washington-
hosted summit of regional transportation ministers.
Mwapachu's Director of Trade, Dr. Mossonda, said that on
February 15 in Kampala there will be a meeting of trade
ministers to, inter alia, look at how to capitalize on the
TIFA. The ministers may also launch a "TIFA Council" and
adopt a work plan. Mwapachu said it would be good if
ministers could flesh-out the framework to link it with AGOA.
Inter-regional trade was low, he said. In fact, the upcoming
ministerial would be only the second time that regional trade
ministers met together. Currently, most AGOA trade was from
Kenya on the supply side, he said.


12. An important U.S. contribution to East Africa trade was
COMPETE (Competitiveness and Trade Expansion) a regional
USAID program valued at USD $84 million to spur trade in the
region. COMPETE was useful in supporting the private sector
to participate in policy-making dialogue with the EAC,
Mwapachu said. It also had been helpful in homogenizing
trade and customs procedures and applying best practices for
the border posts.


13. Mwapachu said he next would like to focus on grains, the
transport of which was "not smooth." On the subject of
agricultural trade, Mwapachu admitted that the U.S. had a
"hard time" in East Africa, especially with beef and cereals.
Ambassador Mwapachu hoped the upcoming TIFA ministerial could
look at that.I insisted that trade needed to be mutually
supportive and not one-sided. Nonetheless, U.S. interest in
the region was there, so EAC members had to nurture East
Africa's "tremendous potential."

DIPLO]AgYQZQQQQDQv+Qq0bX{cbaxnK\Ging to discuss East Africa regional issues,
he and/or his organization would be available to provide
briefings.


15. Summarizing the state-of-play of East African political
federation, Mwapachu said members remained national in their
thinking, but virtually all infrastructural issues cut across
borders. Therefore, he said, there was a growing regional
perspective to members' national planning.

COMMENT:
--------------


16. Much of what I discussed with Mwapachu we only have
limited visibility on from Dar es Salaam. We have even less
visibility on EAC events in other member states, except
through the good reporting of our colleagues at U.S. Missions
to other EAC members. Often however, when the EAC Chautauqua
rolls into town outside of Arusha, reporting officers have no
context to discern the relative importance to Washington
policy makers. Burgeoning U.S. engagement with the EAC is
tied to the emerging relevance of the organization and to the
increasing inter-connectivity of core American policy goals
throughout the region. For example, during March 10-12, Dar
es Salaam will host anti-counterfeiting training for
officials of EAC states. The growing complexity of our
engagement and the regional nature of the EAC imply the need

DAR ES SAL 00000105 004.2 OF 004


for greater attention to this increasingly important
institution. Our engagement should be carried out in a
manner closely coordinated with the Bureau and U.S. Missions
in the five EAC countries. I suggest we discuss this issue
at the upcoming East Africa Chief of Mission conference.


17. A Biography of Ambassador Dr. Juma V. Mwapachu can be
found through this link: http://www.eac.int/sg

Lenhardt