US embassy cable - 04AMMAN388

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2014 
TAGS: ECPS, EAID, KPAO, JO 
SUBJECT: TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE: BURNS STAFFER PROPOSES 
TRC-HOSTED TRAINING SESSION FOR IRAQI REGULATORS TO 
JUMP-START REGIONAL TELECOM TRAINING CENTER 
 
REF: 03 AMMAN 5798 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) staffer Myron 
Nordquist and Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) 
CEO Muna Nijem discussed a possible training session for 
Iraqi regulators to be held in Amman soon.  The proposed 
training session could further Nijem's goal of establishing a 
regional telecom training center in Jordan, although funding 
will be an issue. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) Visiting Burns staffer Nordquist met Nijem January 
14 to address two dovetailing concerns.  First, Nordquist 
told Nijem that CPA has focused on the issue of 
telecommunications regulation, will identify Iraqi telecom 
regulators, and is ready to make specific training requests 
and to provide the funding necessary to make that training 
possible.  They would like such training to take place by 
next month, if possible.  Training could potentially take 
place in Jordan, Egypt, or Dubai.  Second, Norquist said Sen. 
Burns still would like to see a Middle East regional 
telecommunications training center established in Jordan on 
the model of Montana State University,s Burns Telecom 
Center.  If Jordan were to train CPA-designated Iraqis, the 
training session could serve as a "small start" to a regional 
training center. 
 
3. (SBU) Nijem said that TRC was willing and could be ready 
within the month to provide such training, although she 
thought (and Nordquist agreed) that it might be better for 
exposure and cost/benefit reasons if such training were 
concurrent with the meetings of the Arab Telecommunications 
Regulators Network (ATRN - Reftel) that will be held in Amman 
the week of March 20.  This being the case, the training 
would also be available to the delegations attending the ATRN 
conference.  Nordquist recommended that the TRC talk to the 
U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute to find 
instructors for the session, which Nijem felt could be 
effectively taught in as little as two weeks. 
 
4. (C) Nijem and Nordquist also discussed how such a session 
would be funded.  In the long term, Nordquist would like for 
the startup costs of a center to be funded by USAID. 
However, given the urgent need for training of Iraqi telecom 
regulators, Nordquist thought that it might be possible to 
work with CPA to establish a "fast track" process involving a 
U.S. minority-owned (section "8A") subcontractor.  This 
U.S.-based subcontractor would work directly with TRC paying 
costs directly and obviating the need for a CPA-TRC 
relationship that could be more complex and time-consuming to 
establish. 
 
5. (C) This also suited Nijem, who asked that the CPA's 
involvement in the funding for this transaction be completely 
hidden, as the alternative would mean that the plan would 
have to be cleared by the Ministry of Planning.  She also 
asked that Nordquist and Ja,afer Al-Hassan (the DCM of the 
Jordanian Embassy in Washington, who accompanied and took 
notes) say nothing about any of this to ICT Minister Fawaz 
Al-Zou'bi or Jordanian Ambassador to the U.S. Karim Kawar, 
respectively.  Nijem asked instead that Nordquist send her a 
confidential letter laying out his (and, by extension, 
 
SIPDIS 
Burns,) commitment to implement the agreement outlined 
above.  He plans to do so and to get the process moving - 
will brief Sen. Burns and expects the Pentagon and CPA to 
move ahead along these lines. 
 
7. (C) COMMENT: Nijem is a skillful and effective regulator. 
However, her professed desire to cut out key GOJ figures, 
such as Minister Zou,bi, who support her goals, is an 
example of why she has trouble building alliances. 
Nonetheless, the plan discussed in her meeting with Nordquist 
seems likely to serve both the short-term necessity of 
training Iraqi telecom regulators and the longer-term plan to 
stand up a regional telecommunications training institute in 
Jordan.  Nijem also reiterated her interest in including a 
telecom component in an upcoming visit to the U.S. by a 
Jordanian parliamentary delegation.  Post is including this 
interest in planning for such a program. 
 
8. Nordquist did not have an opportunity to review this 
message before its transmission. 
GNEHM