TFHA01: OMAN'S RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO HAITI

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000035 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, USAID/W AND DCHA/OFDA FOR STACY WILLIAMS, MELISSA ROSSER, AND MAURA O'NEILL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID AEMR PREF PREL HA MU SUBJECT: TFHA01: OMAN'S RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO HAITI REF: (A) STATE 4854; (B) MUSCAT 021 ¶1. (SBU) In response to ref A, Embassy contacted Ali bin Ibrahim bin Shenon al Ra'isi, CEO of the Oman Charitable Organization (OCO),which is the Government of Oman's aid and development organization. Per ref A, we expressed the USG's appreciation for Oman's rapid response to support the humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti. Al Ra'isi said he, and the GoO, were pleased to hear this, saying "we all must help each other." ¶2. (SBU) Al Ra'isi then gave an update to the information provided in ref B. He said the GoO is making a first donation of three million dollars, to be used for relief efforts. Medicine, tents, food, and other relief supplies will be Oman's first contribution. Once the humanitarian relief stage of the efforts in Haiti is over, al Ra'isi said that the GoO will move to a second stage of reconstruction, with an amount to be determined later by the extent of the need. (Note: This hands-on, on the ground provision of locally purchased relief supplies and then rebuilding is Oman's typical response to natural disasters. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) Al Ra'isi said that there has not yet been a response from the Red Cross (ref B),so he is working with Oman's largest bank, Bank Muscat, to transfer funds though its correspondent bank in New York. As there are no Omani embassies in the region, al Ra'isi is preparing to fly to the most appropriate location in the region, take delivery of the funds, and oversee the purchase and delivery of the relief supplies. He is hoping to use the Dominican Republic as his base, but could also use Florida. He said that if he can find a UN organization or a branch of the Red Cross able to help, he might turn the funds over to them. However, he said that it is his understanding that the UN agencies, he noted UNICEF and UNHCR, are operating out of Panama. 4 (SBU) Al Ra'isi said he already has an American air transport company with C-130 aircraft ready to move Oman's contributions into Port-au-Prince. He rejected any attempt at overland supply due to the security situation. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED Schmierer