US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3077

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003077 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR A/S QUARLES, DAS RADELET 
NSC FOR GARY EDSON, CLAY LOWERY 
STATE FOR U/S LARSON, A/S WAYNE, A/S BURNS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2007 
TAGS: EFIN, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN MINISTERS SEEK WASHINGTON MEETINGS ON 
DEBT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm.  Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (sbu)  Planning Minister Bassem Awadallah called the 
Ambassador late Sunday, June 9, to say that Prime Minister 
Abul Ragheb had asked that he go to Washington at the end of 
this week with Minister of State for Economic Affairs 
Mohammed Halaiqah.  Awadallah hopes to join Halaiqah (who has 
been invited separately to address an Inter-American 
Development Bank conference) in meetings with U.S. officials 
to renew discussions begun during King Abdullah's visit last 
month of Jordan's request for Paris Club debt relief.  They 
will be in Washington on Thursday and Friday, June 13 and 14. 
 The Jordanian embassy should be in touch to arrange 
appoinments at State, Treasury, and the NSC. 
 
2.  (c)  This is part of a pre-IMF Board meeting push by the 
GOJ to gain Paris Club members' support for the stock of debt 
"reprofiling" they are seeking from the Paris Club.  The King 
and/or senior ministers will also be going to London, Berlin, 
Vienna, Rome and Tokyo before the end of the month.   We have 
been candid in explaining to senior Jordanians, including 
Awadallah and Halaiqah, as well as the King, the Prime 
Minister, Foreign Minister Muasher, and Finance Minister 
Marto, that hopes for such a treatment are unrealistic. 
Nonetheless, these senior officials continue believe that if 
they remain persistent, they will be able to overcome Paris 
Club members' objections.  To bolster their economic case, 
the Finance Ministry has used updated projections that will 
appear in the new IMF program papers to prepare a new 
financial outlook through 2007 that Halaiqah and Awadallah 
should be ready to discuss in Washington.  They should also 
be able to comment on at least some of the Jordanian meetings 
with other Paris Club members. 
Gnehm