US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1912

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001912 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2114 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, BA, GCC 
SUBJECT: GCC MANAMA SUMMIT CONCLUDES UNDER SHADOW OF 
BAHRAIN FTA 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
1. (C)  Saudi Arabia's concern about bilateral free trade 
agreements with the United States overshadowed the 25th GCC 
Summit, which took place in Bahrain December 20-21.  The last 
minute downgrading of Saudi's representation from Crown 
Prince Abdulla to Prince Sultan set the tone at the beginning 
of the conclave (presumed to be an expression of displeasure 
aimed at Bahrain), and the question of how far the Saudis 
would push the free trade issue weighed heavily on the 
proceedings.  Although we will have to wait a day for an 
authoritative briefings, it appears that the Summit leaders 
may have sidestepped the FTA issue.  The communique said only 
that "in reference to the economic relations of the GCC 
states with the international community, the Council took 
note of developments that took place in 2004 and the 
agreements that were signed to establish free trade areas." 
Finance Minister Seif and MFA MinState Abdel Ghaffar both 
assured the Ambassador that the Summit did nothing to keep 
Bahrain from moving forward on the MFA, although Abdel 
Ghaffar suggested that discussions on the issue were 
"complicated."  An official connected with the UAE delegation 
told us that it was his understanding that the FTA issue was 
referred to a technical subcommittee for further discussion. 
 
2. (U) In his public comments to the press December 20, Abdel 
Ghaffar strongly defended Bahrain's position on the FTA, 
saying that Bahrain was not breaking GCC ranks. 
"Globalization," he said, "leads to a free economy and free 
trade agreements.  Regulations hinder such steps.  The Gulf 
region needs a flexible set of regulations."  He also said 
that suspending the GCC customs union was not in the cards. 
 
3. (U) Other issues discussed in the communique (informal 
Embassy translation) included: 
 
-- Iraq: The communique expressed hope that the U.S. 
administration would actively work with the UN and the 
international community to enable all factions to participate 
in the political process through elections that could lead 
the Iraqi people to draw its own political and economic 
future; condemned terrorist attacks targeting civilians and 
humanitarian and religious institutions; and stressed the 
importance of halting interference in Iraq's internal affairs. 
 
-- Jeddah consulate: The Council condemned the terrorist 
attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah. 
 
-- Iran: The Council expressed its support of the UAE's right 
of sovereignty over the three islands, and its regret that 
talks with Iran have not achieved positive results.   (The 
Bahrain press had indicated that the communique would also 
praise Iran for signing the agreement to freeze all 
activities related to uranium enrichment, but that item was 
apparently either dropped or not in the text in the first 
place.) 
 
-- Middle East peace: The Council hoped that President Bush 
would devote attention, during his second term, to the Middle 
East cause in a manner that would meet the promises of a 
Palestinian state that lives in peace and security side by 
side with the state of Israel.  It hoped that the Quartet 
Commission would continue its efforts to move the peace 
process forwarding the Middle East. 
 
-- terrorism: The Council reiterated its condemnation of all 
forms of terrorism everywhere, stressing the GCC countries' 
commitment to the principle of combating terrorism and 
stopping the financial sources that fund terrorism by all 
available means.  It also stressed the importance of 
discriminating between terrorism and peoples' legitimate 
right to resist occupation according to international 
resolutions. 
 
-- WMD: The Council demanded that the international community 
work towards making the Middle East a region free of weapons 
of mass destruction, including the Gulf region. 
 
-- Democratic reform: the Council reiterated its commitment 
to continue the political, economic and social development 
process in the region, and reaffirmed that modernization and 
improvement must come from within the countries of the 
region....  The Council stressed the importance of gradual 
modernization, which will increase the chance of stability 
and security in the region. 
 
4. (C) Although banned in Bahrain, Al Jazeera reportedly had 
a reporter imbedded into the Qatari delegation at the Summit. 
 According to one source, the Bahrain government was not at 
all pleased but decided not to make an issue of it, figuring 
that one bilateral tussle (with Saudi Arabia) was enough to 
bear for one Summit. 
 
5. (U) MFA MinState will brief local Ambassadors December 22 
on the summit. 
 
6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered 
MONROE