US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI917

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000917 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, TC 
SUBJECT: SECRETARY'S ORAL MESSAGE AND THE UAE 
 
REF: A. STATE 32566 
 
     B. 04 ABU DHABI 4218 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison. 
Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Ambassador delivered the Secretary,s oral message to 
the Arab League to MFA Under Secretary Abdullah Rashid al 
Noaimi on February 27.  Al Noaimi reported that UAE Foreign 
Minister Rashid Abdullah (his father) looked forward to 
seeing the Secretary in London on March 1 to discuss the 
issue of Palestinian restructuring.  The UAEG had &high 
hopes8 and remains optimistic about the prospect for peace 
in Israel and Palestine.  The UAE would do its best to 
support Abu Mazen, Al Noaimi said. 
 
2. (C) Al Noaimi took exception to the February 26 
&Washington Post8 characterization that only Saudi Arabia 
had fully met its pledges to assist the Palestinian Authority 
while &other wealthy states in the Persian Gulf region, such 
as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, gave 
nothing.8  He noted that the UAE,s understanding was that 
the London meeting &would not be a pledging conference.8 
The UAE delegation &was likely8 in London to share figures 
on its assistance to Palestine, said Al Noaimi, although the 
files were &still being prepared.8 
 
3. (C) He noted the past two PA assistance tranches, totaling 
approximately USD 40 million already made by the UAEG in 2002 
and 2003.  Al Noaimi added that the UAE would like to see 
contributions from other Arab League members who had yet to 
make any such payments.  In the meantime, he said, 
considerable UAE assistance was &going directly to the 
Palestinian people8 for basic humanitarian needs, including 
health clinics, housing, and school projects.  In listening 
to reftel points, Al Noaimi declared that &100 percent8 of 
the UAE,s humanitarian assistance would go to &the 
people,8 whereas he wondered what percentage of the USG,s 
$350 million commitment would &be eaten up in overhead and 
contract costs.8   Ambassador asked Al Noaimi about the 
possibility of the UAE opening of a trade or other 
representative office in either Israel or the Palestinian 
territories as a sign of support for the peace process.  Al 
Noaimi replied that this would &happen someday... when the 
time is right.8 
 
4. (C) Comment:  The UAEG has provided generous humanitarian 
assistance to the Palestinians, primarily in the form of 
health, education and housing projects implemented by the UAE 
Red Crescent Society, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and 
the Mohammed bin Rashid Charitable and Humanitarian 
Foundation.  These three governmental or semi-governmental 
organizations provided over USD 210 million in assistance to 
the Palestinian people in 2003 (ref B).  Although Al Noaimi 
acknowledged that Palestinian Finance Minister Fayyad had 
made a recent visit to Abu Dhabi, he provided no details of 
the outcome of those discussions.  While the UAEG has been 
reluctant to finance the Palestinian Authority directly in 
the past because of concerns about corruption and lack of 
faith in Arafat,s leadership, the UAEG has a strong 
relationship with Abu Mazen and is committed to supporting 
him.  End Comment. 
SISON