US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1925

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001925 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2014 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, BA, GCC 
SUBJECT: GCC SUMMIT: BAHRAIN MFA GIVES UPBEAT READOUT 
 
REF: MANAMA 1912 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Bahrain MFA Minister of State Abdel Ghaffar 
termed the 25th GCC Summit a "very good and successful 
event," citing the conclusion several economic agreements 
aimed at mobility and integration within the GCC as well as 
the Summit's success in sidestepping Saudi concerns over 
FTAs.  He confirmed that the FTA issue was deferred to the 
ministerial-level economic and finance committee.  All GCC 
countries (except Saudi Arabia) reaffirmed their 
determination to press forward with FTAs.  The Summit also 
produced a "Manama Declaration," a Bahrain initiative aimed 
at highlighting GCC support for continued reform (referencing 
the Forum for the Future).  The GCC established a new 
secretariat position to help coordinate counterterrorism 
 
SIPDIS 
efforts.  Abdel Ghaffar highlighted the GCC's support for the 
upcoming elections in Iraq, and a desire to be helpful in 
pushing Palestinians and Israelis to the negotiating table. 
End summary. 
 
2. (C) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdel 
Ghaffar, in a December 22 briefing to non-Arab Ambassadors 
and separately to the Ambassador, gave an upbeat assessment 
of the just concluded 25th GCC Summit, calling it a "very 
good and successful" event.  Noting that observers had feared 
that the Bahrain FTA disagreement with Saudi Arabia would 
topple the Summit, he called the overcoming of that hurdle a 
success in itself.  In terms of practical accomplishments, he 
cited 11 economic-related agreements, pointing out that at 
one point there were indications the Saudis would defer 
discussion on all economic issues because of the FTA dispute. 
 
3. (C) On the FTA, Abdel Ghaffar confirmed that, in the end, 
the Summit neatly sidestepped the issue by referring it to 
the ministerial-level economic and finance committee without 
giving a timetable.  He said that the Saudis had continued to 
press on the issue during the December 18 Finance Ministers 
meeting, but by the Foreign Ministers meeting the next day 
they seemed to have stepped back, agreeing that if there was 
no consensus it could be referred to the committee for 
further study and discussion.  Abdel Ghaffar said that the 
other four GCC countries made perfectly clear their intention 
to proceed with plans to pursue FTAs with the U.S.  He was 
not expecting the committee to take any measure that would 
block this. 
 
4. (C) Abdel Ghaffar acknowledged that the Bahrainis were 
bothered and puzzled by the Saudi tactics on the FTA.  Why, 
they wondered, did Prince Saud raise it publicly at an 
international forum (the December 5-6 IISS conference) rather 
than wait two weeks and raise it privately at the GCC Finance 
Ministers meeting on December 18?  Bahrain's conclusion: the 
Saudi message was aimed primarily at the U.S.  If true, he 
said, this is in a way a positive message.  Saudi Arabia, 
watching its GCC neighbors move forward on FTAs, wants U.S. 
help in speeding up its WTO accession.  He said that he did 
not think Bahrain's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he 
called close, deep, and historically interconnected, would be 
harmed by the dispute over the FTA.  "The Saudis want to get 
into the WTO," he added, "and we hope they will." 
 
5. (U) Among the economic-related agreements reached at the 
Summit, Abdel Ghaffar cited the following: 
 
-- a social insurance scheme that allows GCC citizens working 
in other countries to continue to receive their insurance 
coverage from their own country.  In his press conference 
following the Summit, Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed called 
this "one of the most important achievements of the Summit" 
as it would further facilitate movement of GCC citizens 
within the GCC.  Previously, GCC citizens who moved to 
another country lost the right to receive social insurance 
from their own country, a disincentive for labor mobility. 
 
-- a unified ID card (called "smart card") for all CC 
citizens, also designed to ease the movement of citizens 
within the GCC.  Under this scheme, data such as drivers 
license, passport, health information, and ID information 
will be retrievable electronically from the card in any GCC 
state. 
 
-- a GCC railway network to strengthen transport ties between 
GCC countries. 
 
-- a unified industrial law designed to increase cooperation, 
joint ventures, and productivity in industry. 
 
-- a decision to draft a joint study on the issue of 
expatriate labor. 
 
6. (U) Abdel Ghaffar also highlighted the "Manama 
Declaration," issued separately from the Summit communique 
and described by Abdel Ghaffar as the first declaration 
issued by the GCC on the question of reform and 
modernization.   He said that this was a Bahraini initiative, 
designed to show the world that the GCC gives great 
importance to reform.  In the short, four-paragraph document, 
the GCC countries highlight their determination to continue 
their work on modernization; reiterate that true democracy 
cannot be imported but stems from within the history and 
heritage of the GCC countries; and welcome Bahrain's 
invitation to host the next meeting of the Forum of the 
Future in the context of reinforcing concepts of 
modernization and reform. 
 
7. (C) On international issues, Abdel Ghaffar said that the 
GCC leaders hoped that the U.S. and Europe would become more 
active on the Middle East peace process.  He said the GCC was 
keen to contribute in any way to help pave the way for new 
negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.  "It is a 
time when hope is rising," he said, "although continuing 
violence saddens us."  On Iraq, he said the GCC wanted to 
convey a message of support for the upcoming elections.  He 
said that while the communique did not specifically mention 
holding the elections as scheduled on January 30, the leaders 
did believe that it important to keep to that date.  There is 
no guarantee, he said, that slipping the date three or six 
months will create a better result. 
 
8. (C) Abdul Ghaffar also highlighted the Summit's decision 
to create a new position at the GCC Secretariat -- assistant 
secretary for security.  The aim is to help the GCC secretary 
 
SIPDIS 
general coordinate GCC counterterrorism efforts.  Terrorism 
was one of the most important issues discussed at the Summit, 
he said, and GCC countries are "very serious about fighting 
terrorism."   Citing the recent attack on the U.S. consulate 
in Jeddah, he said that GCC countries have been the targets 
of terrorism and need to work together on this issue. 
MONROE