US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI2947

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 002947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2010 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ETRD, KMPI, PHUM, TC 
SUBJECT: PDAS CHENEY DISCUSSES REFORM, TIP AND TRADE 
 
REF: STATE 99833 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) Summary: During NEA Principal Deputy Assistant 
Secretary Cheney's visit to the UAE June 26-27, she had an 
 
SIPDIS 
opportunity to speak to different audiences about political 
reform, trafficking in persons, and economic issues. Cheney 
emphasized that to fully empower its citizens, the UAE 
Government needed to guarantee political freedom and 
democracy, and also boost economic development.  Her 
interlocutors said Emiratis needed to be educated about their 
civic responsibilities first.  Cheney encouraged the UAEG to 
move on the G/TIP action plan to improve its chances of 
getting a favorable reassessment that will move the UAE off 
the list of Tier 3 countries.  She noted that the main 
impediment to concluding a U.S.-UAE Free Trade Agreement was 
the UAE's labor situation and its human trafficking problem. 
Cheney also had the opportunity to speak with Emirati 
officials, academics, and journalists about Dubai's important 
economic role, and to tour a pair of colleges and speak with 
some students and school administrators in Abu Dhabi.  End 
Summary. 
 
POLITICAL REFORM 
---------------- 
 
2. (U) On June 26, PDAS Cheney and the Ambassador hosted a 
dinner for 12 prominent Emirati business people, journalists, 
academics, and civil society leaders. Present at the dinner 
was Sultan bin Sulayem (SBS), a top lieutenant of Dubai Crown 
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and the CEO of Dubai Ports, 
Customs, and Free Zone Corporation.  On June 27, Cheney and 
the Ambassador met again with SBS and continued their 
discussion from the night before. 
 
3. (C) Addressing USG efforts to encourage political reform 
in the UAE, President of the UAE Businesswomen's Association 
Raja Al Gurg and other dinner guests expressed concerns about 
"trying to run before they could walk."  They said citizens 
need to understand the responsibilities that go with 
democracy before participating in elections, or else a 
corrupt or pandering government would be elected. Cheney 
responded that the USG considered elections a necessary but 
not sufficient condition for democracy, and she fully 
supported efforts at building civil society and institutions 
associated with public participation in government.  Noting 
that the President had admitted the USG's error in supporting 
"stability over democracy" in its relations with the Arab 
world for the past 60 years, Cheney told the guests that this 
was no longer the case. 
 
4. (C) SBS argued strongly that the key to a thriving and 
happy citizenry was not democracy but rather economic 
development.  He said that in the end, people really wanted 
prosperity and fairness.  Prosperous and educated citizens 
would vote more for the long-term interests of the country 
rather than for the politician that promised food on their 
plates and other handouts.  He brought up the low levels of 
corruption in the UAE as both a factor in the UAE's economic 
success and a source of fairness in the society. (Note: 
According to Transparency International's "Corruption 
Perception Index," which ranks countries from least to most 
perceived corruption, the UAE ranked 29th out of 145 
countries.)  SBS said that people in the UAE were happy and 
rarely talked about political issues, but that corruption in 
Saudi Arabia and especially Iran, where people are not happy, 
was "unbelievable."  "I have never seen corruption like in 
Iran," he said.  Cheney agreed with SBS on the importance of 
economic development, but added that the right of citizens to 
govern themselves, freedom of the press, and other political 
freedoms were equally important to provide hope and 
opportunity for young people and decrease terrorists' ability 
to recruit. 
 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
---------------------- 
 
5. (U) Cheney used her visit to a Camel Jockey Rehabilitation 
Center in Abu Dhabi Emirate June 26 to encourage the UAEG to 
move on the G/TIP action plan to demonstrate that it is 
making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance 
with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking 
in persons.  Cheney told Labor Minister Al Kaabi that it was 
imperative that the UAE have a camel jockey law on the books 
and then proceeds to prosecute traffickers. 
 
6. (U) The Labor Minister and Abu Dhabi Police officials led 
Cheney and the Ambassador on a visit of the camel jockey 
shelter that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed 
had established on the Zayed Military City army base in 
December 2004.  The shelter, one of two facilities for 
rescued camel jockeys operated by the Abu Dhabi Police Social 
Support Center, reported having 44 boys over the age of 12 
the day of Cheney,s visit.  In May, the local government 
opened a second shelter in Abu Dhabi's Al Mafraq suburb 
adjacent to a youth correctional facility.  As of June 26, 
the Al Mafraq shelter reported having 165 boys age 12 and 
below.  On June 27, the police transferred the children from 
the Al Mafraq shelter to a more spacious school compound in 
Abu Dhabi's Bani Yas suburb. 
 
LABOR AND THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT 
---------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) During the June 27 dinner, Cheney told her guests that 
the UAE's labor situation and its camel jockey problem were 
issues under discussion in the ongoing U.S.-UAE FTA 
negotiations.  Several dinner guests, including Essa Al 
Ghurair, a leading member of a prominent Dubai merchant 
family, wondered why the USG was insisting on labor unions as 
a condition of FTA instead of allowing a more gradual 
process.  SBS added that the focus should be on how workers 
were treated rather than on unions.  He explained that in 
Jebel Ali Free Zone, which he runs, workers are happy, well 
taken care of, and paid on time. Cheney agreed that labor 
conditions were important, then explained that the freedom of 
association and the right to collective bargaining were core 
labor standards of the International Labor Organization. 
 
8. (C) SBS said that the UAE, and Dubai in particular, 
depended on and was built on free trade.  He worried that in 
the trade negotiations the USG was equating the UAE with Oman 
or Jordan.  "Think of us like Singapore.  We are traders," he 
said.  Cheney replied that the USG was treating each FTA 
negotiation separately, and negotiating each item one-by-one. 
 SBS stressed that when it came to cooperation with the US, 
the UAE was always first, whether in fighting terrorism or in 
Dubai's decision to be the first Middle East customs 
organization to sign the Department of Homeland Security's 
Container Security Initiative and later the Department of 
Energy's Megaports Initiative.  Ambassador urged SBS to work 
with federal and emirate level officials to move draft export 
control legislation forward.  Cheney thanked SBS for his 
support and cooperation on critical transshipment issues. 
 
DUBAI,S ECONOMY 
--------------- 
 
9. (C) Cheney asked SBS where he saw Dubai five years from 
now.  SBS said that Dubai was capitalizing on the regional 
situation, but that it had its own personality.  SBS said 
that instead of making five- or ten-year plans, Dubai focused 
on what worked in the market.  He said that the government 
concentrated on practical improvements.  Cheney asked him 
whether he was concerned that Dubai was becoming 
over-developed.  SBS explained that Dubai was not just 
serving itself, but was serving the whole region, including 
India, Iran, and East Africa.  He admitted that growth rates 
of 25-30 percent were causing problems, such as difficulty in 
finding enough qualified workers quickly. (Note: Dubai's 
official statistics state that Dubai's 2004 nominal GDP 
growth was 17 percent.)  SBS thought that growth could not 
continue as fast as now, but he thought Dubai had at least 
another 15 years of strong growth ahead. "But if the region 
does not grow, we won't grow," he added. 
 
10. (C) Cheney told SBS that the UAE's accomplishments were 
very impressive, and that Dubai was in some ways a model for 
the region. SBS said that he and Dubai Ports and Customs were 
already playing a large role in helping Djibouti and 
elsewhere. Under Dubai's management, Djibouti port had grown 
substantially, earning the Djibouti government $8 million a 
year compared to $1 million before Dubai Ports took over. He 
said that Dubai Customs had brought 40 Djibouti Customs 
officials to Dubai for six months of training, and had 
recently completed computerizing its records system, thereby 
increasing transparency.  Under Dubai's management, Saudi's 
Jeddah port had gone from 800,000 containers a year up to two 
million.  He said that Rwanda had requested the same kind of 
assistance as well. 
 
EDUCATION 
--------- 
 
11. (U) In Abu Dhabi on June 26, Cheney accompanied Minister 
of Education Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan to the 
Higher Colleges of Technology Abu Dhabi Men's College and to 
Zayed University (a federal women's university in Abu Dhabi). 
 At the Higher Colleges of Technology Sheikh Nahyan gave 
Cheney a tour of the campus and highlighted the university's 
impressive advanced technology, such as interactive, on-line 
classrooms and courses.  Sheikh Nahyan explained that the 
Higher Colleges of Technology offers students both higher 
diplomas (similar to three-year Associate of Arts degrees) 
and bachelor's degrees.  At Zayed University (ZU), Cheney met 
and presented certificates to four women professionals who 
have received MEPI-funded scholarships to pursue a two-year 
new master's degree program in Educational Leadership.  She 
also visited with 11 ZU Student Ambassadors.  Two of the 
Student Ambassadors met Cheney three years ago when they were 
in the U.S. for the first Young Ambassador's Program at 
Fairleigh Dickinson University.  They told Cheney that the 
program was a life-changing experience, and that they have 
returned to the U.S. many times since.  On a tour of the ZU 
campus, Cheney visited a classroom where high school girls in 
a summer educational program were studying English. 
 
12. (U) This message was prepared jointly by Embassy Abu 
Dhabi and Consulate General Dubai, and was cleared by PDAS 
Cheney. 
SISON