US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT642

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000642 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: X6 
TAGS: PINR, PREL, PGOV, MU, Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHY: HUNAINA BINT SULTAN BIN AHMED 
AL-MUGHAIRY 
 
 
Classified By: William R. Stewart, Charge d'Affaires, a.i. 
Reasons: 1.4 (b, d). 
 
1. (U) Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmed al-Mughairy, OCIPED 
Representative in New York 
Born: October 13, 1948, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 
 
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Current Responsibilities 
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2. (SBU) While she considers herself "retired" per a recent 
visa application, Hunaina has served both as the New York 
representative of the Oman Center for Investment Promotion 
and Export Development (OCIPED) as well as Commercial Attache 
to Oman's Mission to the UN, where her husband Fuad al-Hinai 
is Ambassador, since 1999.  She has been an active 
participant in Oman's Free Trade Agreement negotiations with 
the U.S. in 2005. 
 
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New York State of Mind 
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3. (C) Mughairy's close ties to the United States stretch 
back for more than 30 years.  She lived in New York City 
1974-78 during her husband's first posting to the UN, and 
took the opportunity while there to complete her Masters 
degree at NYU.  The Omani ambassador to the U.S. at that time 
was Ahmed Macki, currently the powerful Minister of National 
Economy, with whom she still has good relations.  She 
developed a deep and abiding affection for New York, and 
actively campaigned in the 1990's for her husband's return 
there as UN Ambassador. 
 
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Economic Background 
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4. (C) When a Royal Decree in 1996 transferred responsibility 
for export promotion from the Commerce Ministry to the newly 
established OCIPED, then-Commerce Under Secretary (and 
current Minister of Sports) Ali al-Sunaidi hand-picked 
Mughairy, his advisor, to move to OCIPED as Director General 
for Export Promotion in an effort to staff it with Oman's 
"best and brightest."  She burnished her reputation while at 
OCIPED by supplying the organizational and administrative 
skills that OCIPED's Executive President notably lacked. 
Even though by the late 1990's Mughairy was contemplating 
retirement to take advantage of a government downsizing 
effort, she was touted as a strong candidate to become Under 
Secretary or possibly even Minister in the future.  (This was 
 
SIPDIS 
at a time when no women served at the Cabinet level, and only 
a couple served as Under Secretaries.) 
 
5. (C) Before joining OCIPED in 1996, Mughairy previously 
served in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a Director 
of Industrial Planning (1985-1991) and as an Advisor to the 
Under Secretary for Industry (1991-1996), where she also 
worked closely with Commerce Minister Maqbool Sultan.  She 
dealt with all of the Western embassies while at the 
Ministry, but appeared especially interested in promoting 
U.S.-Omani economic ties.  As part of her portfolio, she 
served as deputy head of the Omani delegation that negotiated 
a bilateral textile agreement in 1993, and then headed the 
1997 negotiating team that renewed it.  She was likewise 
instrumental in promoting a bid by Dow Chemical to build a 
polyethylene factory in the coastal city of Sohar in the 
mid-1990's.  Unfortunately, the bid was ultimately awarded to 
British Petroleum, though BP eventually backed out of the 
deal and the project was never pursued.  She had had an 
earlier stint at the Ministry as Director of Industrial Loans 
(1979-1984) before taking a two-year break to join her 
husband at the Omani mission to the UN in Geneva. 
 
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Well Connected 
-------------- 
 
6. (C) Mughairy's professional and personal contacts in the 
Omani government are extensive.  As noted above, she has 
worked closely in the past and remains in favorable standing 
with Commerce Minister Maqbool Sultan, National Economy 
Minister Ahmed Macki, Sports Minister Ali al-Sunaidi and 
OCIPED Executive President Salim Ismaily.  Her husband, Fuad 
al-Hinai, is currently Oman's Ambassador to the UN.  Her 
husband's brothers include a past ambassador to the U.S. 
(Farid al-Hinai) and Khalifa al-Hinai, a good contact of the 
Embassy who now serves as Chairman of the Board of Oman Gas 
Company and is technical adviser to the Minister of Oil and 
Gas.  Her sister-in-law is married to the Minister of 
Justice, Mohammed al-Hinai. 
 
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Personal Data 
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7. (C) Mughairy has two children.  Her daughter Farah lived 
in Connecticut for several years in the 1990's while 
attending college.  Her son Farid earned a degree in the UK 
before taking a job with a British bank in Muscat. 
Apparently in response to Mughairy's ambition that he 
continue his education and pursue an MBA, Farid was hired in 
2001 to work as an economic and financial officer for his 
father at Oman's mission to the UN, while he attended courses 
at Columbia University.  As of January 2005, neither of the 
children were believed to still be in the U.S.  At one time, 
Mughairy also had a sister residing in New York State. 
 
8. (SBU) Mughairy speaks English, Swahili and Arabic, though 
admits being most comfortable in English.  In addition to her 
MA from NYU, she has a Bachelors degree from the High 
Polytechnical Institute of Cairo, Egypt. 
 
STEWART