US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3957

UNCLAS AMMAN 003957 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, IS, KPAL, PREL 
SUBJECT: U/S LARSON MEETING WITH PNA MINISTER OF ECONOMY, 
INDUSTRY, AND TRADE MAHER AL-MASRI 
 
 
1. (SBU) U/S Larson met with Minister al-Masri on May 15 on 
the margins of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in 
Jordan.  Also present in the meeting were Larson visit 
control officer Greg Lawless and notetaker Amy Schedlbauer. 
 
2. (SBU) Larson gave the minister a copy of the draft G-8 
Plan of Support for Reform and welcomed Masri's comments on 
it, noting that it was still very much a dynamic draft. 
Masri agreed to provide comments.  Larson also invited Masri 
to specify any particular areas in which he or his colleagues 
were interested in working more closely.  Masri stressed the 
need to push private sector development. 
 
3. (SBU) Larson then asked for Masri's thoughts on how to 
work together on the next phase of the PEDG and said that he 
was pleased that direct deposit has moved forward and the 
World Bank Trust Fund is up and running.  Masri said he had 
agreed on a follow-on agenda with Consulate General Jerusalem 
and thought it had been sent to Washington.  He still wants 
to carry through on programs, regardless of what happens in 
the peace process.  He said he felt the Greater Middle East 
Initiative paper is similar to other initiatives that have 
been discussed under the PEDG.  He was interested in focusing 
on private sector development since that is an area of focus 
and need for assistance.  He said he would meet with 
Consulate General officials and others at the local level to 
determine how progress can best be made. 
 
4. (SBU) Masri cautioned that Palestinians need to start 
seeing an impact.  He mentioned a recent trip he had made to 
Germany with a private sector delegation that had gone well 
and hoped it would yield results.  Masri stressed that he 
wanted to strengthen institutional abilities both at the 
sectoral and subsectoral levels and hoped USAID would not 
decrease assistance.  Larson emphasized that he also wanted 
to see the private sector supported. 
 
5. (SBU) Larson said he had seen World Bank president James 
Wolfensohn a few weeks ago and understood from him that the 
World Bank was studying ways by which Gaza could be made an 
economically viable area.  Masri said he had met with World 
Bank staff earlier in the week.  Speaking personally, he said 
that while Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would be a good 
thing, there would be no qualitative economic change for Gaza 
and there will be little impact on living conditions for 
Gazans as long as Israel retains control of the border with 
Egypt, the seacoast, and the airport.  If Israel controls the 
borders, there will never be normal Palestinian trade with 
the rest of the world. 
 
6. (SBU) Masri also raised the issue of the 
tightly-restricted Karni freight crossing point, at which 
trucks must wait for a week to enter Gaza (a delay costing 
$1500 on average).  Three days previously, Masri had met with 
a Gaza business committee.  Their preference is to close the 
crossing because it is hardly open in practice.  Masri has 
contacted the GOI and told them that the PA will close the 
crossing if it is not really operational.  According to 
Masri, the GOI says it is letting in 10 vehicles per day 
instead of the normal 36, while Gazans say it is closer to 
five. 
 
7. (U) This message was cleared by Under Secretary Larson 
GNEHM