US embassy cable - 05SINGAPORE910

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000910 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2015 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, EFIN, PGOV, PREL, PTER, SN, XD, XF, XI 
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE'S ASIA-MIDDLE EAST DIALOGUE 
 
REF: SINGAPORE 887 
 
Classified By: E/P Counselor Laurent Charbonnet, Reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: As part of its effort to be a bridge between 
the Middle East and Asia, Singapore is sponsoring an 
Asia-Middle East dialogue (AMED) in June.  AMED is intended 
to promote economic interaction between Asia and the Middle 
East, and to provide a platform for "moderate" Muslims from 
both regions to share progressive ideas.  The forum will 
focus on security issues, economic reform, and exchanges. 
With some 50 countries involved, AMED is a positive 
initiative that could advance some of our own goals for 
economic reform and modernization in the Middle East.  End 
Summary. 
 
A Forum for Mainstream Muslims 
------------------------------ 
 
2. (U) As part of its drive to expand links with the Arab 
world (reftel), Singapore will host an Asia-Middle East 
dialogue (AMED) on June 21-22, 2005.  Senior Minister Goh 
Chok Tong first mooted this dialogue last year as a "platform 
for progressive Muslim voices" and to showcase the "success 
stories" he found in places such as UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. 
AMED will be open to both government and non-governmental 
organizations, and the GOS hopes political leaders, opinion 
makers, think tank representatives, and scientists will 
participate.  While Zainul Arif Mantaha, the MFA official 
charged with organizing AMED, characterized AMED as a Track 
II approach, all participants will have to cleared by their 
respective national foreign ministries. 
 
3. (C) The GOS has two goals for AMED:  to increase 
collaboration--especially economic--between Asia and the 
Middle East, and to provide Southeast Asia's mainstream 
Muslims the opportunity to influence their brethren in the 
Middle East, Zainul told poloffs.  AMED will also help the 
GOS understand and identify moderate Muslims.  Several 
regional security specialists at government-linked think 
tanks have stated that AMED, along with the GOS, overall 
outreach to the Middle East, reflects an effort by Singapore 
to "do its part" in supporting moderate Muslims and 
encouraging reform in the Arab world.  According to SM Goh, 
Singapore and Asia provide a different development model for 
the Middle East that may be more acceptable to Muslims than 
the western version.  Singapore implicitly hopes its example 
may reassure Middle Eastern governments they can combine 
economic liberalization and growth with firm social and 
political control.  The GOS believes that governments in Asia 
and the Middle East are grappling with similar challenges: 
"how to cope with globalization, how to loosen up controls, 
how to manage a population that is more affluent and wants 
more say, how to maintain traditional values in a 
fast-changing environment," according to Zainul.  AMED will 
be a platform for exchanging "fresh ideas" for coping with 
these challenges and will support the reform efforts of a new 
generation of western-educated Muslim leaders who are "more 
enlightened" and "want to take their countries in a different 
direction," he added. 
 
4. (C) The event is open to approximately 50 countries in 
Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.  It will include 
ASEAN plus three, the Arab League, the Central Asian 
republics, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan.  Australia, New 
Zealand, and the United States are not invited.  AMED's 
steering committee includes Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, 
Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Bangladesh; Indonesia and 
Saudi Arabia have been invited to join and have unofficially 
accepted.  Singapore hopes that by including Saudi Arabia on 
the steering committee it will not "work against" AMED. 
Furthermore, Zainul explained that the GOS wants to engage 
Saudi Arabia, which is influential in Southeast Asia, and 
encourage the kingdom to see itself as part of the 
international community.  Egypt will host the second AMED in 
2007, and Thailand has already signaled its interest in 
hosting it in 2009. 
 
Setting the Agenda 
------------------ 
 
5. (SBU) There will be three main topics for the dialogue: 
1) security, 2) economic cooperation, especially with East 
Asia, and the ASEAN model of liberalization and economic 
integration, and 3) social, cultural, and educational 
exchange.  There will be three concurrent panels (a la Davos) 
on each topic.  The three security panels will be on 
political change and reform, counterterrorism cooperation, 
and global energy security.  The three economic subtopics are 
deeper cooperation through economic agreements, a business 
panel on identifying growth sectors, and a panel for the 
financial sector emphasizing Islamic financial products.  The 
third topic will have panels on developing human resources, 
science and technology (trying to introduce the idea of 
technology to more conservative societies), and "tradition 
and modernism."  The subtext of this last panel is the role 
of Islam in development. 
 
6. (C) Comment: While its ambitious scale may make it 
unwieldy, AMED is a positive initiative on Singapore's part, 
and will provide a framework for moderates in the Middle East 
and Asia to engage on a comprehensive array of issues. 
Although the GOS is promoting AMED for its own reasons, and 
does not seek U.S. involvement, AMED may advance some of our 
own goals for economic reform, development, and modernization 
in the Middle East.  End Comment. 
LAVIN