US embassy cable - 05CAIRO2801

UNCLAS CAIRO 002801 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR NEA/ELA, NP, NP/RA, T, L/NP, L/LEI, WHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT, KNNP, MNUC, MX, PARM, PGOV, PHSA, PREL, EG 
SUBJECT: EGYPT:  SUA CONVENTION AND NONPROLIFERATION 
AMENDMENTS 
 
REF: STATE 64395 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU)  Poloff discussed reftel demarche April 11 with 
Adel Ibrahim, Director of the Office of Arms Control and 
Disarmament at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
Ibrahim was generally familiar with U.S. goals pertaining to 
nonproliferation aspects of the SUA convention (Convention 
for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of 
Maritime Navigation).  He said there were aspects of the 
demarche which should not present a problem.  However, 
Ibrahim said the GOE had "many reservations" on Article 8, 
including concerns that agreement with ship boarding 
provisions in Article 8 would constitute support for the 
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which the GOE was 
not yet prepared to endorse. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Ibrahim said the GOE had formed an 
inter-ministerial committee dealing with the International 
Maritime Organization (IMO), which was addressing legal 
issues and preparations for the upcoming IMO meetings. 
Reading the non-paper carefully, he asked for time to review 
the most recent committee decisions before conveying a 
definitive GOE position.  Ibrahim noted the time-sensitive 
nature of this request and promised to reply on April 12. 
 
 
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GRAY