GICNT: THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) TO HOST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 017429 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PINR PINS PREL PTER KGIC US SUBJECT: GICNT: THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) TO HOST 2010 PLENARY MEETING JUNE 29-30, 2010 ¶1. This is an action request ) see paras 3 and 4. SUMMARY -------------- ¶2. Appropriate Embassy officials are requested, in concert with their Russian and UAE counterparts (if possible, but not required),to inform host governments that the 2010 Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) Plenary Meeting will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi from June 29-30, 2010. The GICNT conducts annual Plenary meetings at the Undersecretary/Deputy Foreign Minister-level to evaluate work that has been done in the previous year and determine new priorities for the coming year. The Plenary meeting is a centralized forum for partners to voice their thoughts to the wider GICNT partnership. Additionally, the 2010 GICNT Plenary meeting will provide Partners with the opportunity to vote on a revision to the Original 2006 Terms of Reference (TOR). The Plenary Meeting will be a 2-day event, with the first day (June 29) set aside for the senior Plenary delegation to dialogue and vote. On that day, each Partner will have the opportunity to make a brief two minute statement to the partnership regarding their progress in implementing the Statement of Principles. Statements can provide an update on the partner's implementation of the Statement of Principles or describe plans to host future GICNT activities, but should remain under two minutes to allow for substantial discussion on the TOR revisions. The second day (June 30) will include a series of expert level working groups to begin work on the functional areas prioritized by the Co-Chairs. End Summary. OBJECTIVES -------------- ¶3. Department requests Global Initiative Coordinating Officers (GICOs) or appropriate Embassy official, together with their Russian and UAE counterparts (if possible but not required),to inform host countries of the following (Note: Embassy Moscow and Embassy Abu Dhabi are excepted from this action request, and this serves as INFO only for them): Begin announcement: --To all Global Initiative Partners and Observers: The United Arab Emirates (UAE),together with the United States and the Russian Federation, as Co-Chairs of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT),are pleased to announce that the 2010 Global Initiative Plenary Meeting will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi June 29-30, 2010. The GICNT conducts annual Plenary meetings at the Undersecretary/Deputy Foreign Minister-level to evaluate work that has been done in the previous year and determine new priorities for the coming year. The Plenary meeting is a centralized forum for partners to voice their thoughts to the wider GICNT partnership. Additionally, the 2010 GICNT Plenary meeting will provide Partners with the opportunity to vote on a revision to the Original 2006 Terms of Reference (TOR). The revised TOR gives the partnership new tools to generate shared plans, policies, procedures, and best practices for the Statement of Principles. Additionally, it activates the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG), which will act as an advisory body to the Co-Chairs. The June 2010 Plenary will vote on the election of an IAG Coordinator to lead the IAG for the coming 2 years. The Plenary Meeting will be a 2-day event, with the first day (June 29) set aside for the senior Plenary delegations to dialogue and vote. On that day, each Partner will have the opportunity to make a brief two minute statement to the partnership. Statements can provide an update on the partner's implementation of the Statement of Principles or describe plans to host future GICNT activities, but should remain under two minutes to allow for substantial discussion on the TOR revisions. The second day (June 30) will include a series of expert level working groups to begin work on the functional areas prioritized by the Co-Chairs. These working groups will begin the work of establishing activities that will generate core competencies for consideration by the GICNT in selected functional areas. Further details regarding content of the 2010 Plenary Meeting will be available in the coming months and will be posted on the Global Initiative Information Portal (GIIP) website, which can be accessed at STATE 00017429 002 OF 002 (https://global-initiative.info). The Terms of Reference document to be voted on by the partnership will be released in advance of the event once the Co-Chairs have completed drafting a joint proposal. We ask that those nations who are interested in serving as IAG Coordinator notify both Co-Chairs by 5 April, 2010. The Co-Chairs would like to thank the Government of the United Arab Emirates for graciously offering to host the 2010 Plenary Meeting. End announcement. REPORTING DEADLINE -------------- ¶4. The Department requests the demarche to be delivered by 12 March 2010. GICOs or appropriate Embassy officials should report results of efforts by cable before 19 March 2010. The Department greatly appreciates Post,s assistance. POINT OF CONTACT -------------- ¶5. All cables associated with the GICNT should be slugged to the Department for ISN/WMDT and the relevant regional bureaus. E-mails regarding the GICNT may be sent to . BACKGROUND -------------- ¶6. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT),which is co-chaired by the United States and the Russian Federation, was launched in July 2006. Its mission is to strengthen international cooperation and collaboration to build partners, individual and collective capacity to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism. GICNT partners are committed to a set of principles, which encompass a broad range of deterrence, prevention, detection, and response objectives. Through multilateral activities and exercises, partners share best practices and lessons learned, particularly with regional neighbors. To date, over thirty multilateral activities and five senior-level GICNT meetings have been conducted, resulting in strengthened policies, enhanced information sharing techniques, and greater partner nation transparency and collaboration. There are now 77 partners in the GICNT and four official observers: the European Union (EU),the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL),and the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC). ¶7. The GICNT holds annual Undersecretary/Deputy Foreign Minister-level meetings, which provide leadership with the opportunity to determine key themes for the upcoming year and provide a centralized forum for nations to voice their thoughts to the GICNT partnership. Earlier meetings were held in Rabat, Morocco (November 2006); Ankara, Turkey (February 2007); Astana, Kazakhstan (June 2007); Madrid, Spain (June 2008),and The Hague, Netherlands (June 2009). CLINTON