US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI1156

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 001156 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, ECON, KDEM, TC 
SUBJECT: THE UAE FOUR MONTHS AFTER SHEIKH ZAYED'S DEATH 
 
REF: A. ABU DHABI 1002 
 
     B. 04 ABU DHABI 4586 
     C. 04 ABU DHABI 4185 
     D. 04 ABU DHABI 4130 
     E. O4 ABU DHABI 3955 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh 
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has overseen a smooth transition 
of power in his first four months in office.  Gradually, the 
UAE leadership has restructured and rejuvenated government 
institutions, set in motion several infrastructure projects, 
and begun to discuss forms of representational government. 
Khalifa,s half-brother, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh 
Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ), has inherited a number of 
Khalifa,s former titles and responsibilities, although 
Khalifa retains the key position of Chairman of the Supreme 
Petroleum Council.  End Summary. 
 
GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING 
------------------------ 
 
2. (C) Since the death of Sheikh Zayed on November 2, several 
changes have taken place at the UAE federal government level 
and in Abu Dhabi emirate.  On December 8, President Khalifa, 
in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, reorganized local 
departments within the emirate, pared the membership on the 
Executive Council from 14 to 9 members, and appointed MbZ to 
replace him as Chairman of the Council.  These changes were 
significant given Abu Dhabi,s status as the economic and 
political powerhouse in the UAE, and further signaled efforts 
to modernize government under MbZ leadership (Ref. B). 
 
3. (C) While Sheikh Khalifa has charged MbZ with running the 
Abu Dhabi Executive Council, he has very carefully not passed 
control of the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) to MbZ yet. 
The SPC decides oil production for Abu Dhabi, and as its 
chairman, Khalifa retains control over the emirate,s most 
significant source of revenues.  This status quo with regard 
to SPC authority means that Khalifa, and not MbZ, would make 
a final decision on the tendering of the 28 percent stake in 
the Upper Zakkum oil field, a key UAEG decision eagerly 
awaited by contenders Exxon, BP, and Shell. 
 
HELP ON THE WAY FOR THE NORTHERN EMIRATES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) In two weeks, President Khalifa will travel to the 
northern emirates for the first time since taking office, 
Minister for Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed 
told the Ambassador March 12.  The relatively poorer northern 
emirates learned January 17 that Khalifa had ordered $405 
million for the first phase of a plan to provide improved 
health, education, housing, roads, and water services to 
residents of rural areas in the northern emirates.  (Note: 
The funds are a supplemental from Abu Dhabi,s coffers. End 
note)  Khalifa also directed the Ministries of Public Works 
and Health to study building a specialized hospital in the 
northern emirates for the treatment of cancer, heart and 
other serious diseases. 
 
WORDS AND DEEDS ) FEDERAL ... 
----------------------------- 
 
5. (U) The president outlined plans for expanding the economy 
in his National Day (December 2) statement.  He promised 
greater diversification, industrial development, and an 
expansion of tourism and commercial activities.  He called on 
the private sector to play a greater role in the employment 
of young Emiratis.  Commenting on the changes in the tourism 
and energy sectors, an MbZ adviser told Pol Chief, &It is 
going to explode in the next six months.8 
 
6. (U) Cabinet members continue to talk about the &new way 
of doing business.8  Education Minister Sheikh Nahyan has 
told administrators and teachers that he was very keen on 
&revolutionizing8 the educational system, relying on the 
latest technologies in education and management.  Newly 
appointed Labor and Social Affairs Minister Al Ka,abi has 
announced plans to increase productivity, introduce an online 
complaint system for workers, and enhance training for labor 
inspectors.  (However, a long-awaited update to the UAE,s 
labor law, which would allow workers to join unions for the 
first time, is still being studied.)  New Public Works 
Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan told his staff 
that the ministry would set up an office in each emirate to 
follow up projects.  Veteran Minister of Health Hamad Abdul 
Rahman Al Midfa has promised to restructure hospitals, 
streamline the health care sector, and address training 
needs, standards, and specialized care. 
 
...AND LOCAL 
------------ 
 
7. (C) Abu Dhabi Executive Council member Khaldoon Al 
Mubarak, who will lead the consultations on representational 
government in Abu Dhabi emirate (septel), told Econ Chief 
that Abu Dhabi also would be moving forward on economic 
development projects within the next year.  Following 
Dubai,s model, the Council is already pushing decisions back 
down to the departments rather than having the Council decide 
everything, the net result being speedier action, Al Mubarak 
and other business contacts say. 
 
8. (U) In another sign of change, President Khalifa issued a 
new law on March 5, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, 
that grants citizens (but not foreigners) the right to sell 
and purchase housing, commercial, investment and agricultural 
plots, provided that they get permission from the 
municipality.  The law also establishes a section for 
property registration in each of Abu Dhabi emirate,s 
municipalities.  We have been told that unless some limited 
land sales were allowed, the growth of Abu Dhabi businesses 
would remain limited (Ref. C). 
 
KHALIFA COURTS OTHER RULERS 
--------------------------- 
 
9. (C) Sheikh Khalifa does not have his father,s charisma, 
nor MbZ,s affability, but he has been receiving the rulers 
of the other emirates in Abu Dhabi for consultations on a 
frequent and regular basis.  Khalifa possesses a quality that 
should serve him well in his deliberations, UAE University 
history professor Fatima Al Sayegh told Pol Chief March 8: 
Khalifa listens to constituents and acts generously.  &In 
the UAE, we don,t have democracy.  We have the open council, 
or majlis, which is part of the legacy of the tribe,8 and 
Khalifa still uses it to hear from his people, she said. 
Khalifa,s advisors appear to be launching a media blitz.  On 
March 13, Arabic daily &Al Bayan8 reported that Khalifa 
regards consultation and democracy as the strongest 
guarantees of national unity, and that the President believed 
the authorities should welcome constructive criticism from 
the press.  On the economic side, President Khalifa has 
promised greater diversification, industrial development, and 
an expansion of tourism and commercial activities.  He called 
on the private sector to play a greater role in the 
employment of young Emiratis in his December 2 National Day 
statement. 
 
DEMOCRATIZATION, WOMEN,S EMPOWERMENT IN SLOW LANE 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
10. (C) In the political arena, few expect change to come 
swiftly.  Electing members to the Federal National Council 
(FNC), which remains an appointed body without any real 
legislative power, has been debated for years.  &In the UAE, 
it will take time to develop civil society, increase the 
participation of women, and introduce elections,8 FNC First 
Deputy Speaker Ahmed Shabeeb Al Dhaheri told Pol Chief March 
8.  &We first have to create new structures and modern ways 
of doing business.8  Some appear satisfied with the status 
quo.  Abu Dhabi TV editor Abdul Raheem Al Bateeh told Pol 
Chief February 28, &As long as the (appointed) Federal 
National Council is solving problems, people are OK with 
it,8 he said.  On the human rights front, a second group has 
applied to the Labor Ministry to set up a human rights 
organization.  We are tracking both their application, and 
that of another group that had applied to establish a human 
rights NGO last July. 
 
FOREIGN POLICY STAYS THE SAME 
----------------------------- 
 
11. (C) The UAE,s foreign policy is unchanged.  As MFA Under 
Secretary Abdullah Rashid Al Noaimi told the Ambassador 
 
SIPDIS 
November 20, there may be changes in style, rhythm, and 
momentum under Khalifa, but the UAE,s foreign policy depends 
on institutions, not people (Ref. D).  &Iraq is our foreign 
policy priority,8 MFA Assistant Under Secretary for 
Political Affairs Tariq Al Haidan told Pol Chief March 8. 
&We are following developments in Iraq day by day and we are 
anxious.  We will not leave the Iraqis alone in this 
difficult situation.8  Academic Al Sayegh agreed that the 
stability of Iraq would remain of &great interest8 to the 
UAE and the GCC.  It will also insist on implementation of 
the Mideast Roadmap, and consult with GCC states on 
counterterrorism, free trade, and Iran, he said. 
 
12. (C) In receiving foreign leaders, President Khalifa has 
focused primarily on the region, including: Prime Minister of 
Kuwait, King and Crown Prince of Bahrain, Sultan of Oman, 
Emir or Qatar, GCC Secretary General,  and Saudi Second 
Deputy Premier.  He has also received Mahmoud Abbas (as 
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO), Jordan,s 
Prime Minister, and German Chancellor Schroeder.  Khalifa,s 
out-of-country trips have included: Saudi Arabia, to meet 
with Crown Prince Abdullah and King Fahd, and to perform 
Umrah (lesser hajj); Oman, to meet with Sultan Qaboos; 
Turkmenistan, to hunt. 
 
ON DEFENSE MATTERS, MBZ STILL CALLS THE SHOTS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
13. (C) On the military side, the changes have been 
relatively minor.  Despite the January 1 appointment of MbZ 
as Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces (a title 
MbZ inherited from Khalifa), and the January 3 appointment of 
Major General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy as the new 
Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, a title MbZ had held 
since January 1993, MbZ still makes decisions and meets 
seniors foreign commanders and officers, while Hamad Thani 
administers the General Headquarters.  President Khalifa 
issued a federal decree on January 7 promoting MbZ from Lt. 
General to General, and Major General Hamad Thani to the rank 
of Lt. General. 
COMMENT 
------- 
14. (C) Khalifa,s decision to develop the infrastructure in 
the northern emirates, not by giving money directly to their 
rulers, but by using a combination of UAEG and Abu Dhabi 
institutions, was a shrewd move ) no doubt learned from his 
father - to maintain Abu Dhabi control and loyalty.  MbZ 
appears content with the authority he inherited from Khalifa 
as Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and he 
remains in control of the armed forces.  MbZ is by far a more 
engaging interlocutor than Khalifa, but there are other 
government personalities, such as Information Minister Sheikh 
Abdullah bin Zayed and Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin 
Zayed, who have appeared more prominently in public roles in 
recent months than they had in the past. 
SISON