ISRAELI AMBASSADOR DESCRIBES HER CURRENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000109

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2020
TAGS: PREL ECON PINR PTER IS SN
SUBJECT: ISRAELI AMBASSADOR DESCRIBES HER CURRENT
PRIORITIES IN SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE 00000109 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Dan Shields, reas
on 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. In a January 21 luncheon conversation with
the Charge, Israeli Ambassador Amira Arnon:

-- described Israel's top objective in Singapore as promoting
Israeli trade and business ties, noting that the upcoming
Singapore Air Show would be "huge" for Israel;

-- stated that Israel is pushing for greater
counter-proliferation cooperation with Singapore,
particularly with relation to Iran, and suggested the United
States and Israel work together on approaching Singapore on
Iran-related proliferation issues;

-- expressed disappointment at the lack of Middle East
expertise in Singapore; and

-- said that while Israel aspired to open an embassy in
Indonesia, there were no immediate plans to move forward on
the idea. End Summary


2. (C) Israeli Ambassador to Singapore (as well as
non-resident Ambassador to Timor Leste) Amira Arnon told the
Charge during a January 21 luncheon that Israel's main
interest in Singapore was business, and that despite an
official relationship which is purposely kept low key,
commercial ties are generally open and quite active.
Ambassador Arnon described her top priority as promoting
Israel's trade with Singapore, and cited the upcoming
February 2-6 Singapore Air Show as "huge" for Israel's agenda
for Singapore. Israel sees Singapore as a hub for its trade
in Southeast Asia, and Israel's business community seeks to
develop opportunities to partner with Singaporean
counterparts on biotechnology, information technology and
software industries, where Israel believes both countries
hold competitive advantages. Post notes Arnon did not
specifically mention Israel's defense trade with Singapore,
which is significant; however, in a separate conversation
with EconPolCouns, Ambassador Arnon described Israel's
defense sales with Singapore as "complementing, not competing
with" U.S. defense cooperation.


3. (C) Another top priority for Israel in Singapore
currently, according to Ambassador Arnon, was pushing for
greater counter-proliferation/counter-terrorism cooperation,
particularly with regard to Iran. Arnon suggested that the
United States and Israel work together on approaching
Singapore on Iran-related proliferation issues, in Singapore,
Tel Aviv, Washington and Vienna. Arnon recognized that
Singapore had little direct influence on Iran, but cited
several positive steps Singapore had taken, such as a couple
of recent cases in Vienna recently where Singapore had stood
up against consensus in the Non-Aligned Movement to block
pro-Iranian initiatives. Israel passes intelligence on ships
of concern passing through the Strait of Malacca to
Singapore, Ambassador Arnon stated. Israel also appreciated
Singapore's willingness to provide briefings on official
meetings between Singapore and Iranian officials. Ambassador
Arnon, admitting that her embassy was "not plugged in" to the
extent she would like with key Singaporean government
officials, suggested that Israel's military and intelligence
channels had more active interactions with Singaporean
counterparts on Iran than its diplomatic corps.


4. (C) Ambassador Arnon lamented at the lack of Middle East
expertise in Singapore, saying there were no Singaporeans who
really understood Middle East issues. This can be attributed
in part, she said, to Singapore's desire to refrain from high
level visit exchanges or official contacts which would draw
substantial public attention, an approach Israel respects and
comfortably works around. Regardless of the dearth of
high-level official contacts, Israel maintained working level
contacts and Israeli private businesses were active in the
region. Ambassador Arnon was optimistic that the relatively
new Middle East Institute at the National University of
Singapore would eventually be of high quality, as in typical
Singaporean fashion the university would be able to recruit
first-class expertise from abroad.

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5. (C) Ambassador Arnon stated that Israel has "aspirations"
of opening an embassy in Jakarta, but that there are no
indications that it will move forward on plans in the
foreseeable future.
SHIELDS

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm