US embassy cable - 05AMMAN7084

UNCLAS AMMAN 007084 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND, EINV, PREL, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: Jordan's TRIDE Participation Moving Slowly 
 
 
1.  Summary: Jordanian Ministry of Planning (MOP) Secretary 
General Maher Madadha told Econcouns and ESTHOff on August 
31 that responsibility for the US/Israel/Jordan Trilateral 
Industrial Research and Development Fund (TRIDE) within the 
GoJ will eventually move from MOP to the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade (MOIT).   The combination of political 
sensitivity to engagement with Israel and financial 
pressures within the GoJ means Jordan's TRIDE participation 
will continue to move slowly.  End summary. 
 
Cabinet Needs to Assign TRIDE to Trade Ministry 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
2.  S/G Madadha said that the Cabinet needed to designate 
officially the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) as the 
Jordanian lead on TRIDE since industrial R&D was MOIT's 
bailiwick.  A motion to transfer TRIDE to MOIT was on the 
Cabinet's August 30 agenda (the night prior to our meeting 
at MOP).  At the time of our meeting at the MOP, Madadha 
didn't know if the Cabinet had approved the decision or not. 
 
Trade Ministry Then to Request Money Transfer 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  Once MOIT has officially been given the lead on TRIDE, 
S/G Madadha said, MOIT should send a letter to MOP 
requesting that the latter transfer Jordan's $330,000 
contribution to TRIDE, first promised in Fall 2004.  Madadha 
said in response to a question from Econcouns that the money 
has been committed, and that MOP has the information it 
needs to execute the actual transfer of funds.  Madadha left 
the impression that there are no financial obstacles to 
making the contribution, and that once the internal 
bureaucratic arrangements were set, the transfer could take 
place quickly. 
 
Planning Ministry Wants Economic Viability 
------------------------------------------ 
 
4.  S/G Madadha said TRIDE needs to be economically viable, 
and more than a political gesture for peace.  He also asked 
for stronger reporting on TRIDE, saying that the GOJ needs 
solid documentation of TRIDE success stories and its 
benefits to Jordan.  With that information, he said, the GOJ 
can generate interest in TRIDE in the business community and 
defend TRIDE politically.  He said that this reporting had 
not been provided in the past. 
 
TRIDE Director Says Engagement, not Cash, is Priority 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
5.  In a phone conversation with ESTHOff following the MOP 
meeting, TRIDE (and U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial R&D 
Fund - BIRD) Director Dov Hershberg commented that getting 
Jordan to engage with Israel and the United States through 
the TRIDE Executive Committee is even more important than 
the cash.  Responding indirectly to S/G Madadha's criticism 
of TRIDE reporting, Hershberg said that TRIDE reports had 
been directed to the Royal Scientific Society, the GOJ's 
TRIDE liaison agency at the time.  He added that at S/G 
Madadha's urging two weeks earlier, he had called MOIT S/G 
Oklah to discuss TRIDE.  Hershberg said Oklah was impatient 
to get the official clearance to engage on TRIDE. 
 
6.  Comment: Political sensitivity to engagement with Israel 
and financial pressures within the GoJ mean it could be 
several more months before the GOJ moves ahead with its 
TRIDE participation. 
 
RUBINSTEIN